Results of Training
by Ronnel no Fenniksu
Summary: After meeting a young man, Naruto's life is changed as that young man takes the boy in and trains him instead of Naruto going through the Academy. Just how much will the world change for a trained Naruto? Naru/Harem Pairings. 288 pages now, minus ANs.
1. Prologue

Pairing:  
Naruto & Temari// OC & Anko

Strong Naruto in that he actually receives training.

Basis:

Ronnel, a wandering ninja arrives in Konoha six years after the Kyuubi's attack. He meets Naruto as the boy is kicked out of the Ninja Academy classroom in an attempt to sabotage his learning. Taking pity, the older shinobi takes Naruto to a nearby field, and instructs him in what the Academy should be teaching him at that time. Sarutobi is watching through his viewing orb, and decides to try to convince the wanderer to take Naruto on as an apprentice. Ronnel agrees, and takes the young boy with him on his travels, teaching him to become a shinobi worthy of being called "Hokage".

Prologue:

It started out as another normal day for Konoha's Pariah, Naruto Uzumaki. He had woken up early, eaten a cup of ramen, and rushed to the Ninja academy to start learning. As he left, a shadowy figure flitted after him, staying up on the rooftops. Despite the young boy not knowing this figure was there, this too was a normal part of his life.

Halfway to the Academy, Naruto spots a group of children abusing a small fox.

"Hey! Stop that right now!" The would be ninja rushed over and slammed into the much larger boy who was kicking the fox. Sadly, his heroic effort failed, as the older boy didn't even flinch when Naruto's small frame hit him. Naruto bounced away, landing on his rear. The group of children took advantage of this, and surrounded him before he could get back up. The bully he had run into grabbed his arms and picked the six year old boy up into the air.

"Ok, we'll stop, and pick on you! Momma says you're bad, so we'll be good guys for hurting you!" With those malicious words, he tossed Naruto to one of his friends, who pinned the young boy's arms to his sides while holding him up. The first bully followed after Naruto, and slammed his fist into the younger boy's stomach. He pulled his hand back and did it again, grinning. One of the other children joined in, and that started a cascade. Soon, all of the children were hitting Naruto in the stomach, as well as in the sides and in the face. After several minutes of this pounding, the boy holding Naruto got anxious.

"Hey hey, I wanna hit him too," he whined. Another of the boy's nodded and took Naruto, holding the poor boy upside down for a change of pace. This proved to be an unfortunate decision. Naruto's foot slammed into the boy's chin, making him bite his tongue and causing it to bleed. The boy dropped Naruto in shock, and the young boy managed to scramble away. He stuck his tongue out at the group of bullies, who were freaking out and trying to clean up the blood from their friend's mouth.

The first bully saw this, and screamed at the group to get Naruto back. The boy took off, easily outdistancing the older boy's. Sadly, he ran into another person, this time on accident. This person turned around, blinking in shock. He looked around for whoever had run into him, and finally looked down. He grabbed the back of Naruto's shirt and pulled the boy to his feet.

"There he is!" Naruto squeaked when he heard this, and dove between the stranger's legs and took off. The older figure shrugged in confusion.

"Strange kids these days.." He looked back around to where Naruto had come from, and blinked again when he saw a group of four boys running towards him. He put two and two together and sighed. When the first of the boys reached him, he reached out and rapped him on the head, stunning the bully. He did this to each of them when they got in range.

"Four on one? That isn't fair." The older man snorted and walked away. Naruto had paused at the corner, and saw the older person stopping his pursuers. He grinned in relief when they dropped to the ground and started crying for their mothers, then hurried on to the Academy. All of this had not been normal for Naruto Uzumaki. What followed was all too familiar to the boy.

"You're late Uzumaki! Don't bother coming to class if you can't make it on time! Get out." Those words chased the pariah out of the classroom. In tears, he went to the swing and sat down on it.

_It's not my fault I was late. Those bullies were picking on the animal! I couldn't let them get away with that._ He kept crying until he felt someone sit down on the swing next to him. Wiping his eyes on his sleeve, he looked over. The person had his eyes closed, but Naruto recognized him. It was the stranger from earlier who had stopped the bullies from chasing him. While Naruto was studying the person's face, the person spoke.

"So, you going to explain why those boys were chasing you earlier? I'd feel really bad if you stole something from –" Naruto cut him off.

"I didn't steal nothing! They were being mean to the fox and I told them to stop!" Naruto crossed his arms and puffed indignantly, completely forgetting his tears. The other person laughed.

"Good to hear that. So, what are you doing out here and not in class?" Without opening his eyes, the person pointed back towards Naruto's classroom. The younger boy felt his lip quivering as he was reminded of his punishment.

"I was late so.. the teacher kicked me out…" Naruto began crying again, which panicked the older person. He got off his swing and knelt down in front of Naruto, placing his hands on the boy's shoulders and shaking him.

"Hey com'on kiddo, stop crying! How about uhmm…" The person cast around desperately. Crying children were not something he was used to dealing with, and it showed. His next words would end up changing Naruto's entire life.  
"I know! How about I teach you whatever it was you would be learning in that classroom?" At his words, Naruto looked up, using the feared puppy dog eyes on the person.

"R-really?" At the teen's nod, Naruto flung himself off the swing seat and onto the startled person. He pulled his face from the older boy's shoulder to speak.

"By the way, my name's Uzumaki Naruto, not kiddo! And I'm going to be the next Hokage!" His words were met with a wide grin.

"Well then Uzumaki Naruto, next Hokage, I am Rei Ronnel. And uhm… I'm a wandering ninja." The now named Ronnel reached up and rubbed the back of his head. He stood up, Naruto hanging from around his neck.

"Say Naruto, how old are you? Four or five?" He was curious, because the boy was rather small and light. Needless to say, he was shocked when he heard the boy's answer. Shocked, and just a little angry.

"Nuh uh. I'm six!" Ronnel grimaced. The only reason a six year old would be this small was malnutrition. Deciding not to push things right now, Ronnel began walking around, causing Naruto to giggle. The young boy swarmed up and turned around, so that he was now sitting on the teen's shoulders, with his hands resting on Ronnel's head. After Ronnel checked to make sure the boy was secure, he asked a simple question.  
"Hey, do you know somewhere that I can teach ya without it becoming crowded?" Naruto nodded in response to Ronnel's question, and for some reason, used the teenaged wanderer's hair as reins to guide him. They were quite the spectacle as they walked through the busy village, drawing whispers and glares. Ronnel noted the glares with some confusion. They arrived finally at a large empty field near a stream that had several poles on its bank. Ronnel hoisted Naruto off his shoulders and sat him on one of the poles and stepped back.

"Alright then. What was it your class was going over?" Ronnel crossed his arms as he regarded Naruto with a cocked head. The boy fidgeted for a moment, striving to recall what the instructor had been talking about when he walked in. His small face lit up when he finally remembered.

"Jutsu! Sensei was talking about the different types and all! And uhm… katas! Something about Katas." Ronnel listened to this rambling answer and tapped his chin. Shrugging, he decided to teach Naruto what he had been taught. This bit about 'katas' would have to wait, since the teen didn't know how combat moves for swords and the like related to jutsu. After taking a moment to organize his thoughts he sat down and picked up a leaf.

"Alright Naruto, since your lesson was to be about jutsu, I guess I'll start off by explaining what jutsu are." The boy leaned forward, his face intent as he listened eagerly. This Ronnel person hadn't been mean at all, and had helped him and cheered him up! Surely he wasn't going to be mean like everyone else was.

"Jutsu are how a shinobi controls various things. From enhancing our own bodies, making them faster and stronger and being able to see things that are far away, to controlling the elements themselves. Jutsu, or abilities, are divided into several branches. I'm starting off with an overview of those branches, then I'll give you a bit more detail about the primary three that most ninja use." He looked up at Naruto to see if the boy was listening. His hair stood on end when the boy leaned so far forward that he fell off the pole that Ronnel had set him on. The teen sprung forward and caught Naruto before the boy hit the ground.

"Naruto! You've got to pay attention to your surroundings kiddo!" He sat up and set Naruto on the ground, brushing his face and vest clean of dirt. After Naruto had done the same and sat down with his back against the pole he had just fallen off of, Ronnel sat against one of the other poles. He popped his neck and sighed.

"Now then… ah yeah. Ok, the main branches of jutsu are these: Taijutsu, which focuses primarily on hand to hand combat, and techniques that are helpful to that; Genjutsu, which is illusion techniques, designed to mess with your opponents mind; Ninjutsu, which focuses on elements and controlling them, as well as chakra consuming techniques that affect the environment and not your body or mind." He noticed a look of confusion on Naruto's face, and held up one hand. "I'll answer questions in a second. Ok, those are the basic three types of jutsu. Then you have Fuuinjutsu, which deal with sealing, and Iryoujutsu, which is all about healing people. There are also weapon styles, like kenjutsu and bojutsu. " The basic introduction done, Ronnel waved for Naruto to ask his questions.

"Ne, Ronnel-sensei, what's chakra?" Ronnel's eyes widened at that. He blinked then rubbed his face for a second.

"It's probably the 'kata' you mentioned, and you just misheard it. Chakra, to answer your question, is energy. This energy is used for most jutsu, no matter what type. Chakra is made up of a person's mental and physical energies. Thus, someone who has trained his mind or his body has more than someone who hasn't. And someone who has trained both, has more chakra to use than someone who has trained only one. As a rule, the more chakra you have, the stronger abilities you can use." He grinned at Naruto's look of understanding.

"Ok, now I'm going to go a bit more into detail about the basic three jutsu types of nin, tai, and genjutsu. First up is ninjutsu." He held up the leaf in his hand. "Ninjutsu is divided into two main categories. First would be non elemental ninjutsu, like this." He made the leaf float up on a pad of pure chakra.

"The second is the branch of shoshijutsu, or elemental abilities." He focused his concentration for a moment, and the leaf split down the middle. Naruto had his eyes locked onto the leaf, his mouth hanging open.

"Cool Ronnel-sensei! How'd you do that?" Ronnel chuckled at the pleading pout that Naruto adopted.

"Wind chakra. It's my main affinity, and I'm quite good at it. That was a basic wind chakra exercise, and all I did was make a miniature blade of wind. But enough of that for right now, you'll probably go more in depth in class." Ronnel discarded the halves of the leaf and stood up. Naruto stood up right after him, and followed the teen to a tree. He watched as Ronnel placed his knuckles against the tree.

"Next up is the intro to taijutsu. This is hand to hand, physical strength." He pulled back and punched the tree, causing cracks in its bark to appear up and down the length. Then, the teen winked at Naruto, before punching the tree again. There was a loud crack in the air, before the tree feel sideways to the ground. Naruto was still wide-eyed.

"That, was applying chakra to my fist. There's supposedly a woman named Tsunade who could completely destroy a tree like this with a single punch, but I don't have near that much chakra control. Taijutsu is about that. Enhancing your physical abilities, whether through a jutsu like that, through chakra enhancement like my punch, or through learning a martial arts style such as capoiera. Now.. there is one final branch of the basic three, genjutsu. Ready to see that?" At Naruto's eager nod, Ronnel turned to him and looked him straight in the eye. The teen ran through a short chain of hand seals, his hands flashing faster than Naruto could track. When he finished, he muttered a short phrase softly, then grinned.

'Ok, try leaving this place." Naruto blinked in confusion. Why would Ronnel tell him to leave? The six year old shrugged and turned and walked back to the Academy.

At least, he thought he did. For some reason, he ended up next to Ronnel again. Naruto blinked and turned, and ran towards the river. He leapt over it and began running in a random direction, only to bounce off of someone's back.

"Gee Naruto, keep running into me like that I'll think you're trying to hurt me." Ronnel laughed. The younger boy was obviously fooled by the jutsu he had used. After watching Naruto run around like a headless chicken for several more minutes, Ronnel grabbed his shoulder and dispelled the technique.

"Relax Naruto. That was a simple genjutsu, one that makes the victim run around in circles no matter how hard they try not to." The boy shot him a dirty look, making Ronnel laugh harder. "Ok.. you suck at genjutsu. But relax, as an added bonus, I'll teach ya something." Ronnel could swear that at that statement Naruto's ears literally perked up. The boy adopted such a pathetically eager expression that Ronnel felt slightly embarrassed.

"Please Ronnel-sensei?" There it was again, that blasted puppy dog eye jutsu. Ronnel swore to himself that only young girls and actual animals could pull it off better than the boy in front of him.

"I already said I would. Alright, listen up." The boy snapped to attention in front of Ronnel. "When you know that you are caught in a genjutsu, there are two widely used methods for breaking out of it. The first, and easiest, is pain. If you can hurt yourself, that will almost always break you out of illusions. There are a few high level ones that that won't work on, but most chunin don't know anything that strong. Makai, most jounin don't for that matter."

"Uh, Ronnel-sensei, I don't think I'd like hurting myself over and over…" Ronnel snorted when he heard Naruto.

"Oh suck it up. Like I said, there are two ways. The second is slightly harder, but less…painful. Ok, put your hands up like this." Ronnel placed his hands in the ram seal, and watched as Naruto copied him.

"This is the ram seal, the most commonly used seal for gathering chakra. Ok, now.. close your eyes and visualize your body. Right above your pant line is a blueish orb." Naruto spoke up while Ronnel was taking a breath.

"And there are lots of little blue lines all over my body, and even little blue dots too! But Ronnel-sensei, what about that red orb thingy behind my blue one?" Ronnel blinked.

"Uh… ignore that for now… not important yet. Ok Naruto, you can apparently easily visualize your chakra network. Now then, pull some of that blue stuff out and push it into the seal. Then push it out _through_ the seal, and say Kai." _What on earth is that red chakra? I've never heard of it before…_ He blinked when his hair lifted up. He looked at his impromptu student, his eyes widening.

"Naruto! Use the jutsu!"

"**Kai!**" The boy shouted. A wave of chakra pulsed out from the boy, pushing everything away. When things settled back down, Ronnel coughed slightly.

"Naruto.. I don't think any B rank illusions are safe from the amount of chakra you just pumped into that." The boy rubbed his head sheepishly, then both males laughed when Naruto's stomach rumbled.

"Thanks for the help Ronnel-sensei! I'm going to go eat lunch now!" The young boy took off like a bolt. Ronnel looked up at the sky, surprised to see that it was indeed nearing noon. He shrugged and was about to leave when the cloaked figure from before landed in front of him.

"Rei Ronnel, you are to come with me." The teen sighed.

"I don't get a choice, do I?" His answer was having his arm gripped, and vanishing in a swirl of leaves.

Hokage's Office

The cloaked and masked and Ronnel appeared, the figure throwing Ronnel forward. The teen put his hand up and caught himself on the edge of the desk before he ran into it.

"Geez guy, it little less easier wouldn't kill ya." He said, then blinked. He turned around slowly. There was a person sitting at the desk. He was older, Ronnel would guess in his late seventies. He was puffing on a pipe, and staring at the teen from under a large hat marked with kanji that read 'Hokage'.

"So you're the guy the kiddo wants to grow up to replace." The Hokage nodded.

"Yes, Rei Ronnel, I am. My name is Sarutobi Hiruzen, and I am the Sandaime Hokage. Now then… you and I need to talk."

Ichiraku's Ramen Stall

Naruto slurped down the last of a large bowl of ramen. He patted his swollen belly contentedly, then stood up and helped the waitress clear his bowls. They began washing them. This was a normal thing, for the boy would often eat more than he could afford, so the ramen stall owner would have him wash dishes to pay. They were nearing the end of the large stack when a person entered the stall, grumbling about old men who spied.

"Welcome to Ichiraku's Ramen, what can I get for you sir?" The waitress, Ayame, asked, pulling out a small note pad and a pencil.

"Uh… Green tea and a chicken ramen please." Naruto's ears perked up, he knew that voice! He plunged the last of his bowls into the soapy water and scrubbed it furiously. Ayame came back to the rear half and was pouring out some green tea that had just finished steeping when Naruto nearly bowled her over in his haste to run to the front. She walked out after telling her father the order to see Naruto perched on the customer's shoulders. She blinked in shock.

"He did this earlier to. It's like he thinks I'm a horse." The quirk to the lips calmed Ayame, who was afraid the customer would hurt Naruto.

"Ne ne ne, Ronnel-sensei! Thanks for teaching me today! I can't wait to go back to school and show Sasuke-teme what I learned!" At Ayame's curious look, Naruto pointed to the pavement outside the stall, where small craters were. Ronnel's chuckle had her looking back at the teen.

"So, you've already figured out how to enhance your punches?" The boy nodded frantically, nearly bouncing off Ronnel's shoulders. A small bell chimed, and Ayame brought Ronnel his ramen.

"Well then Naruto.. I have something you might like to hear…" The boy looked down at the top of Ronnel's head, an eager expression on his face once more. Ronnel dragged things out, picking up his chopsticks and breaking them in half slowly.

"Itadakimasu." He said quietly before pulling out a portion and wrapping it around his chopsticks to place in his mouth in a small bundle. When he swallowed, even Teuchi was leaning towards Ronnel slightly.

"The old man in the tower asked me something about you…" Ronnel continued, before repeating his actions of rolling the ramen to eat it. He swallowed again and speared a piece of chicken, placing it in his mouth to chew. When he swallowed that, Naruto bopped him on the head.

"What'd Ojiji want already???" Naruto asked with a slight edge of expectation in his tone. Ronnel smirked and ate more ramen before answering.

"Well, he wanted to ask me to train you…" he trailed off again, this time to drink some of his tea. He looked up, and noticed that everyone's eyes were on him. Luckily, he was the only customer in the stall, so Teuchi wasn't going to mess up someone else's food. He sighed.

"No appreciation for setting up the moment." He grumbled. "I agreed of course, if you do. If you agree, you'll be coming with me on my travels, and I'll be teaching you more. He got me to agree to have you back in a few years so you can spend the last year with your graduating class, so you can become a Konoha shinobi, and one step closer to becoming the Hokage." In the ensuing silence, Ronnel was able to finish his meal. He finally tilted his head back to look up at Naruto. He was shocked to see that the boy's eyes were brimming with tears. He was about to ask what was wrong when the boy spoke.

"Thank you." Naruto could barely speak. "Thank you thank you thank you thank you-" the boy was becoming louder with each repetition, until he was nearly yelling it. Ronnel clamped a hand over Naruto's mouth and sent a confused look at Ayame.

"Naruto… aside from my dad and I, and the Hokage and a couple of ANBU, he hasn't really had anyone who cared. And none of us can train him, or teach him… so you agreeing to is like a miracle for him." Ronnel blinked. He tilted his head.

'Does it have to do with a certain furry person?" He thought, his mind flicking back to the conversation with the Hokage he had had. At Ayame's nod, he growled. "Just because-" This time, it was Ronnel who had a hand clamped over his mouth. He remembered that Sarutobi had said that Naruto wasn't to know about his burden until he was older. Ronnel sighed and nodded, and Ayame with drew her hand. Ronnel did the same, but had to put his hand back as Naruto was still repeating 'thank you' over and over again.

The teen stood up and removed his hand. "Naruto, what do you need from your apartment?" The boy grew quiet.  
"Nothing Ronnel-sensei.. if we're going to leave…… please let us just go…" Ronnel was confused at the sudden loss of spirits.

"Uh, is there any one you'd like to say good bye to?" Ronnel stiffened when he felt someone walk in behind him. He turned around, and for the second time that day was looking at Hiruzen Sarutobi. Naruto vanished from his shoulders, only to impact into the Hokage's legs.

"Jiji-chan thank you!" The boy began repeating the word into the Hokage's robes. The elderly man nodded and stroked Naruto's hair softly. He looked up at Ronnel, his eyes carrying a message. _Look after him._ Ronnel nodded to the unspoken plea. Sarutobi peeled Naruto back and knelt down in front of him.

"Naruto-kun, Rei-san here is going to be your teacher for the next few years, and he travels a lot. You probably won't be back here until it's time for your final year at the Academy, are you sure you want that?" The boy nodded and rubbed his eyes with the backs of his hands. He turned and ran to Teuchi, hugging the ramen chef's legs fiercely, before slamming into Ayame. The girl managed to bend down and catch Naruto in a hug.

"Be good Naru-chan, ok?" She nuzzled his cheek, then stood up and set the boy on Ronnel's shoulders. The teen blinked. Everything had just happened inside of a few minutes.

Ronnel winced when one of Naruto's legs hit a small seal, one that was freshly carved. It wasn't put on in ink like a normal seal, no, this was carved into his skin on his shoulder. Sarutobi had put it on himself. In the center was Naruto's name, and around it was an array. Sarutobi wasn't a fool, to go about randomly entrusting Naruto to anyone, no matter how nice. This seal would compel Ronnel to protect Naruto above himself, even to the point of sacrificing his own life for Naruto. Ronnel sighed and looked at Sarutobi, who merely tilted his head in a challenge. Ronnel backed down, knowing he was no match for the Hokage.

"Alright Naruto, I hope you're ready, because I'm leaving…" The boy nodded from his perch. Ronnel sighed again.

"Well then.. Hokage-sama, Waitress-chan, Chef-san, see you guys in a few years." Ronnel turned and headed towards the gates, knowing that if he stayed, or more accurately, that if Naruto stayed, it would be harder for them to let them go. At the gates, Ronnel paused.

"Remember Naruto… this isn't a permanent goodbye. We'll be back in a few years." The boy's reply was to bury his face in Ronnel's hair, crying. Ronnel fought back a sob of his own, cursing his emphatic tendencies, then took off. Naruto wouldn't be seen by the villagers again for several years, and when he was, he would be a totally altered person.

**Prologue End**

_**A.N.**_

_**Well… this is my first time at writing a fanfiction. I'm currently in need of a beta reader. I'll try to keep chapter lengths up to this length, so this might be a long story. This isn't going to be a godlike Naruto, nor is he going to have a super bloodline. All he's going to have is training. That said, he is going to be strong. Why? Because, in the manga, the first time Naruto was told that by a teacher that they believed in him, he learned an A rank jutsu in a matter of hours. Remove the impediments of teachers that want to slow his progress, and Naruto is going to be a lot stronger than he was in the series.**_

_**Oh, before I forget, translations of some words people might not know:**_

_**Shoshijutsu – elemental jutsu, refers to ninjutsu that affect the elements.**_

_**Capoiera – this isn't translatable, it's a martial arts style that was disguised as a dance, deals primarily with circles and spinning, and kicks, lots and lots of kicks.**_

_**Makai – Hell, Underworld.**_

_**Itadakimasu – roughly 'thanks for the food', or 'time to eat'. This is said by Japanese speakers before they eat, and is equivalent to saying grace.**_

_**Ojiji – grandfather, formal. Jiji is informal.**_


	2. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: My name isn't Kishimoto. Therefore, I don't own Naruto.**_

_**Chapter One: Homecoming**_

Two figures stared at the break in the treeline before them. One was tall, easily near seven feet tall. The other was around a foot and a half shorter. Both wore covering clothes, the shorter wearing a long coat with a hood that was pulled up, the other wearing a stark white trench coat with a black low brimmed hat. The shorter one's head twitched slightly as he thought about what laid beyond the trees.

"Nii-san… we're really back here aren't we?" The shorter of the duo spoke quietly. The hat on the taller shifted as he looked over at the younger one. He opened his mouth to say that they didn't have to return, but as soon as he finished speaking, his shoulder flared in pain. He subsided with a small scowl as he rubbed the spot under his trench coat. He pulled the brim of his hat down further and sighed.

"Yeah otouto, you're home." At those words, the younger one looked up nervously. _Is Aniki leaving me?_ The shorter figure was now worried. His fears were assuaged when then other continued speaking. "And I guess we'll have to find some place big enough for the both of us. Right?" The trench coat clad one had caught the worry emanating from his companion and knew what it was about. Still, he knew that for worrying his traveling partner, he would be in a bit of trouble. He didn't know what it was until the boy glared at him before shifting behind and climbing up his shoulders and pulling his own hood down and plopping the hat on his sunkissed hair. The boy then grabbed the dark brown hair that had spilled out when the hat was removed, getting two heavy hanks, one in each hand. These he used as reins to guide the other towards the gate. He paused and concentrated for a second, before two soft pops echoed around them.

The taller figure winced as his hair was tugged and yanked. He resisted the strong urge to reach up and swat the boy off, instead heading for the break in the trees and the gate that lay beyond them. He winced again when one of the smaller figure's legs slammed down on the sore spot from earlier. He repressed another groan, knowing that what had caused the pain would be dealt with soon enough.

At the gates, two men stood half asleep, leaning against the metal-sheathed wood. One had a senbon rolling back and forth between his lips as he chewed on it. He sent a scowl at the other person, the reason he was back on gate-guard duty. Kotetsu sighed when Izumo snored lightly, showing that he was more than half-asleep. _Nothing ever friggin happens at the gates. Everyone who wants to cause trouble avoids them and gets detected breaking in._ The senbon chewing man ranted on in this vein for several minutes, before he noticed that someone, no, two people, were approaching. The reason the Chuunin had been confused was that one of the people was sitting on the shoulders of the other.

Kotetsu smacked Izumo awake as the two travelers arrived at the gate. The lower, taller figure raised one hand, showing a small piece of paper with the Hokage's Permit Seal on it. Kotetsu blinked and looked at Izumo, who took the paper and checked it with a few techniques. Finally, he nodded and handed the paper back.

"It's legit. They can enter. Welcome to Konoha travelers." The Eternal Chuunin Gate Guards turned and pushed the gates open enough for the figures to enter. After the two had entered, the guards pulled the doors shut. Izumo immediately leaned back against the door, settling down to return to sleep now that the momentary excitement had passed. Kotetsu rolled his eyes and went back to scanning the forest trail.

Izumo's nap was interrupted when something small poked his leg. He cracked his eyes open and looked down, and blinked in confusion when he saw a fox sitting at his feet. He decided to ignore it and leaned back to return to sleep. If he had kept his eyes open a moment longer, he would have seen a human grin stretch the fox's lips before it growled quietly. There was a loud report.

Kotetsu leapt to his feet, senbon gripped between his fingers as he looked around in shock. "Izumo, what on earth happened? Did you hear that explosion?" There was a snarl to his side, causing the senbon chewing Chuunin to look at his partner. His eyes widened comically when he saw that Izumo was covered in Haruno-pink paint, with some dripping down from his nose to stain his vest. The unpainted Chuunin did a double-take, then began laughing.

"Hahaha! Looks like Naruto's back! Bet he was the one riding the other's shoulders. But who was that guy?" Kotetsu kept laughing, knowing the only person who would be brazen enough to prank a Chuunin. There was a small chirp at his ear, causing the man to nearly swallow his senbon in startlement. He looked to his shoulder, and grimaced. A small jay was sitting there, with a definitely unjayish smirk stretching its beak. The Chuunin barely had time to close his eyes and lips before the bird exploded, covering his face, hair, and torso in bright sky blue paint.

Izumo reached up and wiped paint off his face. He opened his eyes and blinked the paint out of them, glad that Naruto had used non-irritating paint. He looked over at the senbon chewer, and doubled over laughing when he saw a blue stick sticking out from blue lips.

"Oh yeah, definitely Naruto's work. Things just got interesting again. By the way Kotetsu, you owe me fifty ryo. You lost, he pranked us first out of everyone." Kotetsu reached up and flicked the senbon out of his mouth, and wiped the excess paint off his face. He scowled and pulled out his money-purse, and forked over the money. Then he slipped his pouch away, and placed another senbon into his mouth. The two men leaned back against the gate, now more alert due to the boy's prank. _Wonder if he does that on purpose… oh man Naruto, we've missed ya._ Kotetsu resumed watching the trail, with his partner actually awake.

**Office of the Sandaime Hokage**

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked back and forth between the two people standing in front of him. Tanned hands were laced behind blonde hair as the shorter person stood silent while the taller, darker-haired person told him some of what he had taught the younger. When the boy began miming a mouth moving up and down pointlessly, the young man reached out and smacked him upside the back of his head.

"Otouto, get out of here. I need to talk to the old man alone for a bit. I know you're eager to go visit the Ichiraku's, so go." The boy jumped up and down in place before rushing out. The two men sighed and grinned almost simultaneously. Then the younger man looked at the older man. "Alright, now that the brat's gone, we need to talk about this." He reached up and pulled down his trench coat and his shirt, revealing a seal inscribed on his neck. "I brought otouto back in time to rejoin with the last year of his age group, so it's time to pull this thing off." Sarutobi sighed and rubbed his head. He had known this would eventually come up, but Jiraiya had avoided all of his messengers. As it was…

"I'm sorry Rei-kun. The person who could remove it is missing in action. At best, I can alter it to where it only serves as a warning device in case Naruto is in danger." Ronnel blinked and nearly slammed his palms down on the desk. He forcibly restrained himself.

"Will it have the distance clause?" Seeing the Hokage's nugatory headshake, the younger man sighed deeply, then nodded. "Fine, alter it. Then we'll talk about otouto's skills, and a few other things that have come up that you need to be aware of." Sarutobi stood up and moved around his desk, opening up a small cabinet and pulling out a quill and some ink. He motioned for Ronnel to continue speaking. The young man launched into the full story as Sarutobi set to work.

**With Naruto, Ichiraku's Ramen Shop**

Naruto slipped into the shop quietly, a large grin on his face as he surveyed the menu they had on the wall. He paused in shock when he saw the largest size available. _They named a size after me… and it's twice the size of the large? Yatta!_ He shook his head, the goofy grin widening as he kept reading. He blinked again when he saw that they had also named a dish after him. He grinned and sat down at the small bar and waited for Ayame to take his order. As he waited, he slipped his hood further over his face, hiding his blonde hair and the whisker marks on his cheeks.

Ayame came out of the back, hastily snatching a pencil out from behind her ear as she went to take the newest customer's order.

"I'll take two Uzumaki sized Naruto specials please." Something about the customer's voice was familiar to Ayame, but she couldn't quite place it. However, she did know that this man had just ordered sixty ounces of ramen!  
"Uh sir, you do know that an Uzumaki sized bowl is thirty ounces, so two would be sixty? Do you want me to bring one out in a take-home container?" Naruto, hidden under his hood, shook his head.

"I'll eat it all, you know that." The waitress tilted her head confusedly. She didn't think she knew this person, but there was still that niggling sense of familiarity about his voice. Then she nearly fell over in shock when the person flipped his hood up to reveal sunkissed hair, cerulean blue eyes shot with tints of red, and six streaks, three on each cheek. She stared for several moments, unbelieving. Then, without saying a word, she walked over to a calendar and checked something on it. She spun on her heel and walked into the back.

"Father… Naruto-kun's back!" After this statement, two things happened. From the back there was a loud clatter. The other was that Ayame launched herself from where she was standing, wrapping Naruto into a tight hug, smashing his face against her chest. A tall, rotund man in chef's garb pushed aside the flap to check for himself what his daughter had said. When he saw the blonde Jinchuruuki gasping for air from his daughter's grasp, he laughed aloud, a deep bellowing sound.

Naruto let the man laugh happily for several minutes, but he had a problem. He knew that he didn't have the money to pay for his order, considering that Ronnel kept all their money with him to prevent Naruto from spending it all on ramen. The boy scowled at this but accepted it. Now however, it hurt since he couldn't buy his ramen from the Ichiraku's.

A sudden grin split Naruto's cheeks as he came up with a solution. The sympathy card would work perfectly as both of the Ichiraku's cared about him, and would let him get away with things that say others, say his adopted older brother, would not. He pouted, catching Ayame's attention as she watched her father laugh.

"Naruto-kun, what's wrong?" The boy's lower lip quivered.

"Ronnel-aniki wouldn't let me have ramen…" The lie rolled off his tongue easily, probably because Ronnel hadn't let him have ramen, or rather, wouldn't let him have the _amount_ of ramen he wanted. Still, he didn't have to clarify, as Ichiraku immediately declared that as his first day back, this would be a celebration, and the boy wouldn't pay for his food. As Naruto cackled in his mind, he prepared an apology for what he had just gotten his brother in to.

**Office of the Sandaime Hokage**

Ronnel sneezed just before feeling a cold shiver run down his spine. Sarutobi, who had finished modifying the seal and was stepping back, looked worried. Catching the look, Ronnel took a guess.

"Relax old man. I figure 'Ruto was talking with someone about me. Probably made up something for the Ichiraku's." Hiruzen watched him for a moment, then nodded, satisfied that nothing had gone wrong with the sealing. He walked back over to his desk and sat down, watching Ronnel quietly. Finally, he steepled his fingers together and leaned forward.

"Ronnel, there is one more thing I would like to speak to you about." At the man's inquisitive look, Sarutobi continued. "I want you to join the forces of Konoha." He missed Ronnel's eyes tightening. "I can either instate you as a Chuunin without trouble, or if you care to take an examination, I can probably get you instated as a Jounin." He looked up and saw that Ronnel was standing up, pacing.

"Look old man. There's a reason I am a wandering shinobi. My village was wiped out because of a traitor. The few of us who survived have all scattered to the winds. I wander to find the man who betrayed us and slaughtered my village. I can't… I can't have that happen again." Sarutobi watched as the traveling shinobi paced back and forth, clenching his hands until his knuckles turned white.

"Rei-Uzumaki Ronnel, like it or not, you're a true role model now. If you don't join Konoha, Naruto's one role model, the only person who hasn't left him in years, will be someone who doesn't find connections to a village important, someone who is shiftless." Ronnel froze in his tracks, turning a cold eye towards Sarutobi. "Don't look at me, that's the way it is. You are his role model. Do you really want to show him that it's fine not to belong to a village? That--" Ronnel brought his hand up, cutting off the Sandaime's words.

"I'll do it, I'll do it. But I'm not joining the ranks until Naruto does. Until then, I'll just help train him and his friends some." The man stood up slowly, stretching out. "I have one more condition. I want all information you have on the Cult of Jashin, and more specifically, Hidan. And I want first crack at any mission that involves Hidan." Sarutobi looked troubled by that. Before he could protest, Ronnel explained something that had the Hokage's eyes widen in shock. He gave a half nod, before letting Ronnel leave. The wanderer walked out of the building and raised one hand to his head.

"I need dango." He looked around sniffing the air then set off in a random direction.

**Ichiraku's Ramen Shop**

Naruto, Teuchi and Ayame were talking and laughing together when Ronnel showed up. Naruto blinked looking at his sensei. His hair was scruffy and patchy like someone had been messing with it. He had a line of blood trailing down one cheek from a slice just under his eye socket. The eyes were looking definitely harried as they scanned back and forth nervously.

"Old man, you don't serve dango here do you?" Teuchi blinked. Of all the things that they had been expecting the frantic looking Ronnel to say, that was not on the list. He looked over at the menu list on the wall.

"Only basic sweet dango, why?" Ronnel seemed to deflate and sank into the seat next to Naruto. The boy looked at his adoptive brother worriedly.

"I'll have two orders of that, and two to go. And no, I'm not going to explain." Naruto blinked as he sat up and looked at the slumped over form of his teacher curiously. He'd have to get whatever had happened out of the older shinobi later. For now, he settled for watching as Teuchi moved back to the back of the restaurant and began frying up the dango. Ayame looked at them, also curious, but shrugged and went to take the order of another person who had entered the shop just after Ronnel. Teuchi returned with the dango a few minutes later, taking the money from Ronnel, who immediately ate the first two orders and stood up, grabbing the to-go order. A look to Naruto, and they stepped out into the street.

"Ok, we need a place to stay Naruto. Got any ideas?" The boy thought to himself while Ronnel calmed down, regrouping from whatever had freaked him out. His first warning that Naruto had an idea was when he felt the boy swarm up his shoulders again. The blond boy grinned down at the older male's upturned face.

"I know a place! It's at the end of this road, but it's a long way down…" Ronnel's lips quirked. He knew what the boy wanted. He shook his head and began walking, only to stop when his head began to be used as a drum.

"You're going to do that the whole way there aren't you."

"Yup."

"Longer I take, the more you do it?"

"Yup." Naruto grinned cheekily as Ronnel's left hand came up and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Fine fine. Hold on tight brat." Naruto braced himself as he felt his brother charge up chakra into his legs. He nearly squealed in joy when he heard his brother utter the name of the jutsu softly. "Shunpo." The duo vanished in a trail of dust.

**Half a mile distant, Apartment Complex**

A casual observer standing near the abandoned apartment complex would note a long streak of dust rushing towards the dilapidated building suddenly. Such an observer would also note a joy filled scream echoing down the street. Then they would see a pair of people skid to a halt in front of the building, throwing up a huge cloud of dust as the person actually moving twisted his feet at an angle, reminiscent of a skater braking on ice.

Naruto clapped his hands happily from Ronnel's shoulders before plopping his hands on the older male's head and vaulting off of him. The two strode to the front door, with the white-clad man sighing heavily when he saw the massive chain across the door.

"Well, it's a fixer-upper, that's for sure. Hang here a bit Naruto, I'll go get the key to this thing from the Hokage." He turned and was about to leave when his young companion grabbed his hand and began dragging him around to the side, following the wall, towards a small alcove built into the building. Ronnel watched in amusement as Naruto began tapping the wall, wondering why the boy was hitting stones in a pattern that reminded him of the swirled leaf that was Konoha's symbol. His eyes widened when the wall faded around the last brick, which Naruto caught in one hand and made sure to bring low.

"The old owner would lock me out sometimes, changing the locks whenever he found out that I had a key. Jiji got tired of me coming to him for a new key, so he showed me this. He said that this place was a really old building, like his teacher old! It was built so that people would be able to sneak out in case someone attacked the building. The wall reforms when this brick–" here in his explanation the Jinchuruuki wagged the brick that he had caught, "is placed back approximately where it was. Come on." Naruto stepped inside, looking at his brother expectantly, watching as said man followed him inside. The boy then held the stone in midair, letting Ronnel watch as the rest of the wall that had faded slowly came back into view, with the blonde boy barely snatching his hand out of the way in time to avoid having it caught there.

"Impressive Naruto. How many times did the old man have to explain that before you could remember what he was saying?" Ronnel's tone was light as he looked at his adopted little brother. Naruto scowled at him, but held up both hands, showing eight fingers. After Ronnel finished laughing at his brother's sheepish look, he managed to gasp out another question. "And how many times did your hand get caught in the wall as the Fuuinjutsu reactivated?" This time, Naruto growled at the older male, but relented and held up five fingers. That had Ronnel hit the ground, clutching his stomach laughing.

A few minutes later, after Ronnel could breathe again, he leaned against the wall and looked around. The place was coated in a thick layer of dust, indicating that it had not been cleaned in a long time. Cobwebs hung in the corners, thick with spiders and insect husks. He sighed gently when he saw that the stairs leading upstairs were literally falling apart, with large stretches simply missing. He rubbed his brow as he fought off the impending headache.

"Otouto, you lived here. How many floors are there?" The boy thought for a moment, tapping his chin.

"I think… there's this floor, and three floors up. And a really big basement. Why?"

"Trying to figure out living accommodations. Let's see, that basement is going to be our training center. This can be our cooking and dining floor. I'll take top floor, and you can have the floor under it." Naruto nodded to this, happy that he would be able to have a floor to himself. It would probably seem empty to the boy, but in time he would get used to it. "For tonight, we're going to focus on cleaning this place up, repairs will come later. I checked the schedule while I was heading up to the Hokage's office, the Academy starts in about a week."

Naruto nodded again, then took Ronnel's outstretched hand and helped him to his feet. "Come on Aniki, we can spend tonight in my old room. It's on the second floor." That was when Naruto turned around and saw the condition of the stairs. He blanched slightly, until he felt his brother tap his shoulder and point to his feet, which were glowing a faint blue. The blonde Jinchuruuki nearly slapped his forehead, irritated that he had forgotten that simple shinobi ability. He focused his chakra to his feet, and led his brother along the wall to the upper floor.

When they arrived in Naruto's room, the two found a place that had been utterly stripped of everything. There was nothing but dust in the room, not even any debris, or remnants of any furniture. Naruto wiped at his face, telling his brother that dust had gotten in his eyes. Ronnel laid one hand on his shoulder and squeezed it lightly, hiding his anger at whoever had stripped the boy's room.

"Get the bedding scrolls out and bunk down for the night Naruto. I'll cook breakfast tomorrow, so don't worry about it." The younger male nodded numbly and grabbed a pair of scrolls out from one of his pockets. He stopped when Ronnel squeezed his shoulder again. "Relax some. I know it hurts little brother, but just remember this – You've got better stuff now, and they aren't getting anywhere near it." This made the boy smile slightly, before he nodded and unsealed the scrolls and laid out a pair of small cots and two sleeping bags. With a last look around his bare room, he burrowed into one of the bags and tried to put himself to sleep.

Ronnel stepped over and brushed his adopted brother's hair out of his face, sighing when the boy opened his eyes. He reached down slightly and squeezed the boy's neck carefully, nodding to himself when Naruto drifted into sleep after the pressure point was pressed.

"Sorry Otouto, but you need sleep, and right now you're too upset to get it normally. And I meant what I said on the road Naruto, we'll find out who your father was." He said it softly, swearing it once more to the boy. Unable to sleep himself, he walked over to the windowsill in the room and sank down onto it, staring out at the village. That was one of their biggest reasons for actually returning, well, Naruto's at least. He felt that it was here in Konoha that he would solve the mystery of who his parents were, starting with his father. The man's eyes traveled back to his adopted brother and he sighed softly, remembering the one clue he had as to who Naruto's father was.

_Despicable Author Style: Flashback Technique!_

Naruto was curled up in his sleeping bag, having just finished his shift. Ronnel was perched up in a tree, scanning the area lazily while slowly carving a branch into nothing. His eyes snapped up at a small popping sound, but he relaxed when he realized it was the fire crackling. He settled back down back down, but froze when he detected another faint sound, one that had been masked by the noises from the fire.

Dark eyes shot around the small clearing, latching onto a glint of metal that was rising above Naruto. The wanderer narrowed his eyes and sank his hands into the branch under him and swung down and around, launching himself towards the glint. His feet slammed into a hard chest, kicking a shadowy assailant, shoving him out of the clearing and against a tree. Ronnel landed on his feet in a crouch, straightening up and bringing a short sword out. He threw the blade without hesitation, piercing the attacker through the chest, pinning him to the tree he had landed against.

The shinobi dashed over to the pinned attacker, thrusting two fingers into the man's throat, temporarily paralyzing him from the neck down. A kunai spun out from his pouch and pressed against the man's neck, the tip cutting into one of the folds of skin there.

"Tell me who you are and why you just tried killing my ward, or so help me I will make you bleed like a stuck pig from every part of your body. And then I will slit your throat. Talk." The man Ronnel had pinned to the tree spat on the wanderer's boot. He looked down at his boot and looked back up at the pinned man with disgust written across his features. Ronnel focused his will for a moment, with water soon flowing up from a bottle on his hip, wrapping around his arm then down to the blade. The water created a spike that dug through the skin on the man's throat, curving into a hook that pierced the flesh. The water hook tore back, ripping a strip of flesh away.

A second kunai pressed against his stomach, and the man's eyes widened in fear when he saw water spiraling around his tormentor's arm.

"I'll talk I'll talk! You fucking Leaf Yaru! Of course I'd want to kill him! He looks just like his Kami-forsaken father! When the Iwakage hears that the Rock Destroyer has a son, Stone will not rest until his spawn is dead!" There was rustling behind the two as the Rock ninja's yelling woke Naruto up from his slumber. Ronnel looked back through the trees to see his young ward sitting up and rubbing his eyes tiredly. _Kuso. Gotta end this now. Normally I'd leave him alive but..he not only tried to kill Naruto, he's ready to get an insane tyrant on my ward's trail! I cannot let that happen, and not only because of this stupid seal._ Ronnel sliced through the man's artery, catching the bloodspray with the water around his arm. He blasted the bloody water out into a bolt that flew through the trees. After removing his shortsword from the man's shoulder, he sheathed it and strode back to the campsite.

"Ronnel-sensei? Where'd you go?" The boy looked worried, as if he was afraid that Ronnel had been about to leave. The shinobi rested his hand on the messy mass of blonde hair and ruffled it lightly.

"Relax kid, I had to take care of a little business. Nothing big." Naruto looked worried for a moment longer, then nodded slightly and settled back into his sleeping bag. Ronnel leaned against the tree, staring at the boy in thought. _Just who is your father Naruto? And why on earth is he called the Rock Destroyer?_ The name made him picture someone large and brawny who shattered giant boulders with his fingers. Shaking that image out of his head, he sighed and looked up to the stars.

_Flashback Technique: Release!_

Ronnel shook his head slightly while staring up at those stars from the window in the apartment. He had been able to talk to an acquaintance of his, and all he had found out was that the "Rock Destroyer" had a different cover name and hailed from Konohagakure. The wanderer turned away from the window, pausing as something that he could see at the edge of the window caught his eye. He leaned against the wall and looked out the window further, looking at the Hokage Monument.

"Huh. Sarutobi looks a lot younger up there…" He turned away and was laying down on his own cot when a thought occurred to him as he drifted into sleep. _Another of those faces seemed familiar, but from where? Ah, I'll worry about it some other time._ After checking to make sure that Naruto was asleep, the older man settled down into his own cot and drifted to sleep.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Meeting the Crowd**

Naruto woke up when the sun hit his face. He rubbed his eyes before standing up and stretching. He staggered into the bathroom and scrubbed at his teeth with the thin brush that he had purchased the day after returning to Konoha. The boy stumbled back into his bedroom and headed over to the dresser. When the drawer opened, Naruto grumbled again about evil older brothers who didn't appreciate the awesomeness of orange. He pulled out a blood red shirt that had splashes of black and white mixed in. He followed that up with solid black cargo pants. He remembered Ronnel's admonition to hide his body as much as possible, to confuse possible enemies, and pulled out a deep green cloak.

He folded the coat over his arm and wandered down to the main floor. Ronnel had been up before him as usual, and was already cooking. Naruto had found a stove that Ronnel was able to repair, so they no longer had to rely on the spit. Ronnel looked up and waved the boy to a seat the table with the spatula.

"Bacon will be done in a minute Naru-kun. Biscuits are already finished. You know where the orange juice is." The boy nodded and snagged a plate from the cupboard and a mug. He set them on the table then walked over to the fridge and opened it, pulling out the orange juice jug. He sat down at the table and moved two biscuits to his plate before filling his mug with juice. He looked up and blinked happily when Ronnel set the steaming plate of bacon down in front of him. He scooped several slices and wolfed them down. He crunched through them with a delirious expression on his face.

The older shinobi settled in across from his adopted brother and opened up a bag of white powder. Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Really aniki, do you _have_ to eat your bacon with powdered sugar?" Ronnel snorted and sprinkled the sugar onto his bacon. He picked up a strip and munched on it, giving a contented sigh.

"You're addicted to ramen, so you don't get to say anything at all about my eating habits. And I heard something about me not letting you get _any _ramen…" He stared at the younger boy, who blushed and hunched his shoulders up to his ears. Naruto pouted for a moment.

"I wanted ramen, and Ayame and Teuchi took pity on me and fed me ramen." Ronnel shook his head and munched down on more of his powdered sugar coated bacon, which made Naruto shake his own head.

After several minutes, and another batch of bacon, the two sat back from the table and looked at each other. Ronnel peered out the window then back at Naruto.

"Better hurry up bucko, your class should be starting soon. And it wouldn't do for you to miss the first day of schooling in six years."

"Aniki. You taught me better than any of those people at the schools would."

"Be that as it may, you still have to go. Now shoo, shoo. Make sure to take your scrolls, but keep the fact that you know fuuinjutsu a secret. Keep them in the bottom of your pouches."

"Yes Ronnel-niisan." Naruto stood up and walked through the house, heading to his cabinet of supplies. He pulled out a few small scrolls out and tucked them into various pouches on a belt. He hung the belt on his waist, adjusting it so the pouches were at the small of his back. He placed several kunai and shuriken in the pouches above the seals, careful to keep them from cutting the seals on the scrolls.

The boy reached into the back of the cabinet and pulled out a short staff with two iron bands, one on each end. He twirled it end over end then set it against the wall cabinet door and pulled out a holster for it. He strapped the holster onto his back then slid the staff into it. He sighed and walked back down to the main floor, where Ronnel was leaning against the front door. He had a small pack resting on one palm as he sipped on a steaming cup of tea.

"Ramen. I figured you'd get hungry halfway through class." The boy blushed and took the box. Ronnel stepped aside after opening the door. Naruto walked past his older brother, then froze. Ronnel was turning towards the door when the small figure slammed into him, wrapping him in a tight hold.

The young man rested his hand on Naruto's head. "Relax otouto. You'll get to know them, and they'll get to know you."

"But aniki… the.." Ronnel read the fear in his adopted brother's face.

"If they worry about you being the jailer of the single most powerful demon, then they aren't really worthy of being your friend. Besides, if you're worried they might dislike you because you hold another consciousness in you, make friends with the Aburame heir. They have _hives_ living in them, so you holding one entity shouldn't bother him." He knelt down in front of they younger boy and tilted Naruto's chin so the boy was looking into his eyes.

"You'll do fine. I only suggest you avoid the Uchiha and the Hyuga. Both clans tend to be upright and pretentious. Be especially wary around the Uchiha, because his Kekkei Genkai, when he activates it, is incredibly annoying." The boy nodded and wiped his eyes. He drew in a shuddering breath and grinned at Ronnel.

"Ne.. what will you be doing while I'm in class aniki?" Ronnel grimaced at this. He sighed and ruffled Naruto's hair.

"Honestly… I don't know yet. The Hokage wants to see me once you're in class." Naruto nodded again, then hugged Ronnel again. He stepped back then scuttled outside, bending over long enough to pick up his ramen box. He stared at it for a moment, then looked back up at his older brother. Ronnel sighed before tossing the boy a small bottle of water and a pack of matches.

"We really need to get you away from that elementalist bent you've got going." The boy grinned and shook his head, then dashed off.

Ronnel stepped back inside and closed the door. He walked over to the table and sat down at it, resting his forehead on his palms after setting his tea down. A few minutes passed, with him returning to drinking his tea slowly. He set the cup in the sink and gathered the rest of the dishes from their breakfast. He created a clone gathered of winds. The near invisible clone set to work washing the dishes as Ronnel climbed up the stairs to his floor.

He began getting dressed, keeping his colors to simple brown shades. The coat he chose though, was a stark white trench coat, with a few seals on the inside to keep it clean of dirt. He settled it onto his shoulders and walked over to his weapons cabinet. He pulled out scrolls similar to the ones that Naruto had retrieved earlier. He placed them in pouches identical to what Naruto had, but his were on a harness. Out of the back of his cabinet, he pulled a pair of blades. One was a longsword, a long, straight, double edged blade. This was placed in at his waist. He checked the second one, a claymore. It had been a while since he used it, and sure enough, it could use a sharpening.

He shucked the coat off and put on the harness, then replaced his coat over it. He pulled a whetstone out of the bottom of the cabinet and began striking the blade against it as he walked out of the house. Ronnel ignored the strange looks that were sent his way. _After all, it's probably not every day that they see someone carrying a giant blade around in one hand._ He shrugged and kept walking.

**With Naruto**

Naruto settled in at the back of the class, glad that Ronnel had shooed him out early. He had arrived before anyone else did, and was able to watch everyone as they entered. He saw a boy with spiky hair, similar to his though of a brown shade rather than his own sun-kissed blonde, walking in with a boy who had swirls painted on his cheeks.

_That's probably the Nara and the Akimichi…_ He watched as the pineapple haired boy sat down next to the other one, and promptly fell asleep. The boy with swirls merely shrugged and pulled out a bag of chips and began munching on them. _That nails it. He's as lazy as the Nara we ran into over in Tanzaku, and the other has the appetite of an Akimichi._ This thought was confirmed by the fact that the larger boy had pulled out four more bags of chips and was munching his way through those as well.

Next to arrive was a quiet duo. The girl was wearing a heavy jacket that hung down to her knees. Her hair was a light color, lavender. Naruto blinked at the unusual shade, but when he saw the solid white of her eyes, he shrugged it off as a Kekkei Genkai trait. _Isn't that one of the Hyuga? She doesn't seem to be pretentious like Aniki warned me she would be._ He turned to look at the second arrival.

The male half of the duo was so similar in outfit to the girl that Naruto nearly did a double take to make sure the girl hadn't moved as fast as he turned his eyes. But this boy's coat looked thinner, more akin to the trench coat that Ronnel wore than the heavy coat the girl did. He also had on a pair of round black glasses. Naruto could swear that there was a faint buzzing coming from the boy. _He's got to be the Aburame._ A small bug crawled out from the boy's high collar, confirming Naruto's hypothesis.

The first two boys hadn't even registered Naruto's presence. These second two did though, the girl blinking and tilting her head slightly, then pulling her face down into her jacket. The Aburame though, sat down in a seat near him. Naruto cocked his head as a trio of small beetles skittered to him. He grinned and laid his hand down,, letting the insects crawl onto his skin. They roamed up one arm before running down the other and going back to the boy. The Aburame blinked and tilted his head in recognition to Naruto.

Said boy's eyes returned to the door in time to see yet another coat wearing boy enter the room. This boy's coat seemed to be more like a parka, a fur lined one. Naruto's eyes widened when a small furry head popped out of the back of this boy's hood and barked. _Inuzuka, the animal living pack._ He grinned, hoping that he would be able to get along with this boy as well. The Inuzuka sniffed the air then seemed to turn his head to the dog in his hood, then turned to look straight at Naruto. The boy seemed confused, then shrugged and waved to Naruto before sitting down by the Nara and Akimichi.

The next person to enter set Naruto's hair on end. _Cold,'I am better than you' stare, hair that looks like a mallard's rear, onyx shaded eyes, blue shirt with a fan, that has __**got**__ to be the Uchiha. And unlike the Hyuga girl, I don't think this guy will be proving Nii-san wrong._ After the Uchiha strode into the room like he owned it and sat down at a desk as if he had no rivals, it seemed like a flood gate opened. People began streaming in in clusters, giving Naruto no time to grow accustomed to their faces.

After an eternity, the teacher entered. He had spiky hair as well, of the same shade as the Nara's. Both had the same style of pineapple spiked hair, though there the resemblance ended. The teacher had a large cross shaped scar running across his face, with his nose being covered by it. He sat down at his desk and looked over the notes for the day when there was a loud clatter outside the room. Everyone but the Nara and the Uchiha looked up, and while most sighed and returned to what they had been doing, Naruto kept his eyes on the doorway.

He was rewarded with the sight of two girls, one blond, and the other pink, a hair shade that truly made Naruto look twice, trying to enter the room simultaneously. For some reason, the door that had let groups of four in with no trouble, was not large enough for the two of them. This was probably due to the fact that they truly were trying to enter at the same time, not giving the other even the shortest of leads that would have let them in with ease. Finally the doorframe creaked and bent, sending the two girls to the floor in an ungainly heap.

As they struggled to right themselves, Naruto's thoughts registered them. _Blonde hair in this village, has to be a Yamanaka. Other than me, they're the only people I remember having a shade this light in hair tones. But who on earth is the pinkette?_ Naruto decided to listen, in case he learned what he was interested in. The two walked over to the Uchiha, then began an argument.

"Out of the way Ino-pig, I was here first!" Naruto sat back. _Well, her first name is Ino… wow, they are uninventive in this village… sheesh, her dad's name is Inoichi. Which means 'Number One Ino', or 'Ino One'. Conceited much blondie?_

"Not a chance Billboard-brow! I got here first, _I_ get to sit next to Sasuke-kun!" _And the Uchiha's first name is Sasuke? Crow…. Sorry tribute to the name._

"I get to Piggy!"

"Nuh uh Sakura, I do!" _Sakura. Cherry Blossom, and she has pink hair… wow. Just… wow. Ronnel-niisan would be having a field day with this group._ Several eyebrows around the room began twitching as the argument between the two shrill girls continued. _And then he'd have a _field_ day with them, and exhaust these wanna-be kunoichi. Sheesh. Would I have turned out like that if Aniki hadn't rescued me? _The boy shuddered at the thought of being a louder person than he already was.

**"INO AND SAKURA, SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP!"** Naruto blinked. This was apparently the famed 'BigHead no Jutsu' that all Academy teachers were required to learn. He was relieved that Ronnel had never learned that one, the man was loud enough without it.

The girls squeaked and plopped down in two random seats, neither one taking the seat next to their precious Sasuke-kun. The teacher nodded once they were sitting down.

"Alright. Now that _everyone_ is in their seats, we have a new classmate today."

"What? Hey Iruka-sensei, why does some snot nosed brat get to join us? Isn't that skipping grades?" The Inuzuka boy was the first to voice disagreement.

"Kiba, this person was told to report here by the Hokage." _Not to mention that I probably already know more than the rest of these kids._ Naruto kept his thought to himself though, recognizing the fact that the Inuzuka boy, Kiba, felt threatened and was trying to establish some kind of pack hierarchy. _It has got to be an Inuzuka thing._

Kiba grumbled but had to accept it. Iruka looked through the classroom, trying to find Naruto. He spotted him at the back of the classroom and gestured for him to stand up.

"Ne, Naruto, why don't you stand up and introduce yourself?" Naruto could tell that it wasn't a request, s he stood up slowly. All eyes in the room flitted back to him, except for the Nara boy, who was asleep. The Akimichi prodded him to alertness, and whispered in his ear. The Nara yawned and turned around to stare as well. Naruto shrugged at this byplay. He settled his shoulders and began speaking.

"My name is Uzumaki-Rei Naruto. I was born here in Konoha, but my adoptive older brother removed me from the village six years ago so he could instruct me in the shinobi arts. I returned last week and have refamiliarized myself with the village. I am currently living with my brother. My skills are those taught to me by various sensei while in our travels. My dreams are my own, as are my likes and dislikes." He nodded to Iruka and sat back down.

The class immediately began murmuring to each other about him.

"Who wears a cloak in this weather?"

"I know. And what's with that last name? He's got to be a Yamanaka with that blonde hair of his."

"I heard that he and his brother moved into an abandoned apartment complex and completely fixed it up."

"What about that his brother is really strong? If his brother is, and he's taught this Naruto kid for six years, he's bound to be strong too."

**"SHUT UP AND PAY ATTENTIION!"** The class snapped forward, their eyes locked on Iruka. His head reduced from the massive size it gained under the technique as he looked across them. He picked up a slip of paper and looked down at it. He seemed to raise one eyebrow at it, but shrugged. He was standing up as another man walked in.

This man was dressed like a normal chuunin. He had silver hair, and was wearing a hat the made it stick our at random angles. He clapped Iruka on the shoulder before looking at the class. His eyes tightened when he saw Naruto.

"Ah, Mizuki, just in time to help me pass out the pop quiz." Iruka handed the second man a sheaf of papers, then began passing the papers out. Mizuki started at the back of the classroom, meaning he began with the odd Hyuga girl.

The man paused for a moment before handing Naruto his test. The boy could swear there had been a hand-sign before he got his test. Naruto shrugged and looked down at his test, wondering what questions would be asked.

Shinobi A throws a shuriken at a velocity of 22 feet per second at an angle of 30 degrees from the horizontal. Shinobi B throws a kunai at a velocity of 44 feet per second at an angle of 47 degrees from the horizontal.

What velocity, and angle, will Shinobi C have to throw his senbon to hit both of the other shinobi's weapons?

Naruto blinked, and reread the question. He rubbed his forehead in thought and tried remembering if Ronnel had covered this. A breeze floated into the room, causing the papers to lift from their spots in front of the students. Naruto had frozen. His paper, despite the fact that he was right by the window, hadn't moved at all.

The boy placed his hands under the table in a ram seal. He leaned his head against the table to hide his lips as well.

"Genjutsu: Kai." He spoke softly. His chakra sifted out and disrupted the illusions near by.

Iruka's eyes shot up when two cloaked men suddenly. appeared in the back of the room. He saw the masks they were wearing and was about to settle down when he saw a small kanji etched into the forehead on each mask. _Oh no. Ni ANBU… does Hokage-sama know?_ The two figured looked at each other then vanished in gusts of wind and leaves.

Naruto had not noticed the two, as his attention was on his test. Sure enough, his Kai had dispelled an illusion on his test. He scooped up the pencil on the desk and began answering.

1. What was the name of the Shodaime Hokage's Kekkei Genkai? _Oh yeah, these are so much easier… _Naruto easily answered the questions on the true test. He was the third person to turn it in, the Aburame and Akimichi having finished before him. He blinked when he counted the finished papers on Iruka's desk. There was a discrepancy, four papers there, with only three people having gone up.

Naruto turned around and was walking back to his desk when he saw what had caused the oddity. The Nara boy had fallen back asleep, but there was no test in front of him. The boy chalked it up as the Akimichi having taken his friend's test up when he finished, and sat down where he had been.

A beetle skittered up onto the back of his hand that he set on the desk. Naruto raised his hand up so the insect was on level with his eyes. He brought up his other hand and ran one finger down the back of the carapace, which drew an odd buzz from the insect. He sat there, staring at the beetle, for several minutes. A loud shriek brought his attention up from it.

"OH GOD! ONE OF YOU BUG FREAKS IS ENOUGH! DON'T TELL ME THERE'S TWO!" Naruto lifted his head and saw the pinkette from earlier staring at him with disgust evident on her face. The boy decided it was time to speak again.

"Would you be quiet? This is a kikaichou, a special insect. Really Pinky, if you are going to insult insects, be sure to _not_ insult one of the more prominent clans in your village." His tone was bored. Inside, his mental checklist ticked her off as a potential friend. Reacting like that to a beetle meant she would probably take his status badly. He stood up, raising one eyebrow when he saw they were the focus of the classroom. At the front, Iruka seemed content to let him handle it, going so far as to lay a restraining hand on Mizuki who seemed about to say something.

Naruto walked over to the Aburame boy and laid the hand with the kikaichou on it on the boy's shoulder. The insect seemed to bow to him before skittering back onto the Aburame, disappearing under the boy's coat collar.

"You can call me Naruto."

"Likewise, I am Shino." Naruto sat down next to Shino, then looked back. The pink haired girl, Sakura, seemed to be in a state of shock. He rolled his eyes and sent a small gust of wind at her, causing her to stumble back and fall onto her desk. Iruka had watched silently through the situation, and looked to be pleased with the outcome. His teaching partner, Mizuki, had the trademarks of someone reining in anger, something that confused Naruto. The boy sat back in his new seat and decided to be wary where the silver haired chuunin was concerned.

The rest of the class returned to taking their test. Naruto and Shino began a quiet discussion about insects of various kinds, the Jinchuuruki quite pleased to find someone who shared a similar interest. The Aburame seemed slightly happier as well, judging from the strange vibrations that came from occasionally, which Naruto interpreted to be laughter.

**With Ronnel**

Ronnel was standing in front of the Hokage, his claymore now sheathed on his back. The old man was tapping tobacco into his pipe, taking his time. The younger man kept his patience, staring straight ahead at a spot above the Sandaime's head. Finally, the man looked up at the wandering shinobi.

"Rei-kun, I wished ask you something." The older man spoke slowly, mixing formality with familiarity. Ronnel's eyes dropped to the leader's, indicating interest.

"Would you give up your wandering nin status, and join Konoha?" The younger man's eyes rose, staring into the distance. His expression seemed troubled.

"Hokage-sama…. You know I was a shinobi of a village before correct? What you don't know is… that I didn't part amicably with them. No, I m not a nukenin. I say I did not part amicably because…" Ronnel trailed off, lost in the past. Sarutobi waited patiently, feeling that if he did, he would get the rest of the story.

"Because, there was no one to part with. The rest of my village was destroyed. I am the only survivor. Even the civilians were killed Hokage, right down to infants in their cradles. I have not joined another village out of a fear that if I did, my history would repeat itself." Sarutobi stood up and set his pipe down on the mantle then walked back to his desk. Rather than sit down, the older shinobi slammed his palms onto the desk.

"Rei-kun. You do not only have yourself to worry about now! Naruto-kun is looking up to you, for guidance. When he becomes a shinobi in truth, I would rather not have his role model be a wanderer! And I severely doubt that whatever annihilated your village could do the same to Konoha." He sank down into his desk, steepling his fingers as he regarded the young man in front of him.

Ronnel sighed and looked up at the ceiling. His gaze dropped slowly to Sarutobi's visage. "Sandaime-sama… I will agree, if you tell me what you know of a 'Jashin' cult. It was one of their members who wiped out my village." The Hokage's eyes narrowed.

"I know nothing good I'm afraid. Jashin is a blood thirsty demi-god, one who delights in carnage and discord. The more trusted of his followers gain a twisted kind of immortality." He sat back in his chair, staring at Ronnel as he spoke. The young man's eyes had tightened when Hiruzen said that Jashin delighted in carnage, his mind flitting back to his village when he returned from his mission. He drew out his claymore and sat down, laying the blade across his knees, the longsword settled in the gap between the seat back and the cushion as he stared back at Sarutobi.

Finally he sighed and nodded. "I'll join, but only because I don't want Naruto to grow up like me. The wanderer's life was fine for me, but Naruto, he needs people around him, people he can grow to be friends with. Besides…" He grinned, "Naruto still wants to take your place and be the strongest ninja in Konoha."

The Hokage grunted. The man in front of him was evading saying something, but he wasn't the leader of his village for nothing. He decided not to push Ronnel for now. _Besides, he just agreed to be a Konoha nin. I'll have a lot more time to talk to him._ The old man stood up and walked to a cabinet and pulled out a metal plate on a blue band, and a tan vest.

"It is my pleasure to induct you into the ranks of Konoha's ninja forces, Rei Ronnel. On my authority as the Sandaime Hokage, I instate you as a chuunin shinobi." He handed the pair of items to Ronnel then sat back down at his desk. He watched as the younger shinobi traced the design of the leaf symbol with the tip of one finger.

Ronnel stared at the design for a long minute, then sighed. He pulled the band up to his neck and tied it on tightly. He stood up and laid the harness and swords on the chair and pulled on the vest. It was a little snug, but the tan matched in with his brown shaded outfit. The harness and weapons went back on, then the trench coat swept up into place. The new chuunin bowed to the Kage.

"If that is all…" At a nod, Ronnel began walking to the door. When he was at the doorframe, he paused, his hand resting on wood.

"Sarutobi-sama… if you get any information on the Shinobi of the Hidden Hot Springs Village known as Hidan… please tell me." Sarutobi tilted his head slightly, then nodded again. Ronnel bowed again and strode out through the door. _I need dango after that. Wonder where I can find some in this village._

**With Naruto**

Ronnel would have been proud of his brother/student. Naruto had put up with the shrieking sounds from the pinkette all day, though he really was contemplating slapping a silencing tag onto her mouth. Not even the blonde girl she had come in arguing with was as loud as she. He leaned over to his new friend.

"Ne, Shino-san, is her screeching normal?"

"Hai Naruto-san. This is a daily occurrence." The boy responded with a controlled wince. The object of their discussion was currently screaming about how 'awesome her Sasuke-kun' was. The Uchiha had just managed to nail seven of the targets with kunai.

The boy snorted and looked at Naruto.

"Beat that dobe." Naruto sighed at that. He had been termed the dobe because everyone else had attended the classes, while he hadn't. It would take him becoming Rookie of the Year to banish the nickname. And Naruto really wasn't that interested in showing off. But for some reason the black eyed boy irritated him, so just once, he was going to put the boy down.

Naruto stepped up to the line, then looked at the targets. There were ten in all. The boy looked down at the ground, then judged the distance between himself and the targets. He turned around and walked several paces back, nearly doubling the distance to the targets. He reached into a pouch and pulled out several senbon. Eyebrows around him rose.

"HEY IRUKA-SENSEI!! HE'S TRYING TO USE A NON REGULATION WEAPON!" The pink haired banshee wailed, trying to discredit Naruto. Ever since he had put her down this morning, she had disliked him intensely. She nearly had a heart attack when Naruto snorted.

"Again Pinky, you are proving you aren't as smart as you put yourself to be. These are senbon, a favored weapon of hunter-nin and medical ninja. Now shut up and watch." The boy tossed the senbon up into the air, which made everyone laugh.

"Hey dobe, the targets are over there." Naruto ignored the jibe from the Uchiha. One hand rose to his shoulder, and his cloak spun back. His hand flashed down, whipping the staff out. It flickered back and forth among the falling senbon, then slid back into the sheath across Naruto's back as the cloak settled back in place. Only Iruka and Mizuki had been able to keep up with the rapid movements.

Over at the targets, Mizuki blinked. The boy had moved far faster than the other Academy students did, outdoing even Sasuke. What's more, there was a senbon set firmly in the bulls-eye ring on each target. Not necessarily in the exact center, but to have managed to hit the bulls-eye at all with rebound strikes was impressive. He signaled Iruka, the discreet hand signs for a perfect score. Iruka nodded and marked it down, then smiled benevolently at Naruto, who had moved back to the circle of watchers.

Said boy nodded back, glad that at least one of the teachers wasn't out for him. Lunch had been interesting, with Mizuki trying to bring Naruto some food. Shino had warned him away from it. Mizuki had been forced to eat the food, and had to rush to the bathroom. After a quizzical look at Shino, the Aburame had explained that his kikaichou had smelled laxative powder on the tray. Naruto looked over to the targets, where Mizuki still looked uncomfortable. _Serves you right teme._

After tallying everyone's scores up, Iruka looked pleased. He looked up at the class. "Alright everyone, tomorrow we will have the taijutsu and ninjutsu exams. Go home and get a good night's rest, and be ready to go then." The class drifted apart, the dismissal in Iruka's voice evident.

Naruto and Shino paused, each turning a different way. Naruto decided to risk it. He opened his mouth.

"Naruto-san, I know your status as the Container. And it makes no difference to me." Naruto was stunned into silence. He turned around, but Shino was gone. A silly grin rose to his face. _He knows and yet he wants to be my friend. Awesome!_ The boy headed home, the smile never faltering.

_**AN**_

_**Yup, there was another time skip. The next chapter has another, one that encompasses Naruto's year at the Academy.**_

_**Teams will be as in canon, until the Wave mission.**_

_**Yes, Ronnel has history with Hidan and Jashin. And for those who guess it, yes, Ronnel was a shinobi from the Hidden Hot Springs Village, same as Hidan. When he said he was the last shinobi of that village, he meant the last loyal one. There are others, but he doesn't know about them.**_

_**Now, about Hinata: Yes, she's shy, and insecure. But since Naruto was gone, she didn't have him to latch onto as an example of perseverance. So she's, if anything, worse off that canon Hinata. This will change eventually. I'm sure there's stuff I'm forgetting, but for now, that's all I can think of. If you have any questions, just put them in a review or pm. I'll answer any that come my way. Thanks all! **_

_**Ja ne. **_

_**-G.T.-**_


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Out With A Bang**

_**Apartment Complex**_

Naruto woke up when the sun slanted across his eyes. He sat up slowly and rubbed the back of his hand across his eyes, clearing the grit that had accumulated there in his slumber. He yawned widely and stretched luxuriously, feeling his vertebra pop back into place with a chain of pops.

The boy swung his legs out from under the comforter and stretched them out in front of him parallel to the ground. Finally satisfied, he hopped out of bed, landing with a muffled thud on the carpeted floor.

His feet sinking into the dense carpet, Naruto trudged over to his wardrobe and pulled it open. He stared blankly at the garments hanging inside of it, his mind still not fully functional. Slowly, one hand crept out and pulled down a navy blue shirt. He shrugged into it and got out a thin, short sleeved white button overshirt. After a minute of staring, he took out a pair of black slacks. After tucking the shirts into the slacks and belting on a thin black band, Naruto reached in and pulled out the harness for his pouches and staff.

After settling the harness into place, out of the cabinet came a midnight black trench coat with white waves on the edges. He slung this over his shoulder, not putting it on yet. Naruto walked over to the weapons cabinet and began pulling out his weapons scrolls, and a staff. This staff was a little bigger than Naruto was, and seemed to shine silver. At each end was a heavy black band of iron. The boy gripped it tightly, and remembered what he had forgotten to put on. He walked back over to his clothing cabinet and pulled out a set of fingerless gloves with small rubber pads on the inside. The cloth of the gloves was white, with black bands of metal on the outside as protection. He slipped the gloves on and grinned when he picked up the metal coated staff, pleased with the fact that it no longer slid in his hands.

The act of testing out his staff had woken the boy up slightly, but it was evident that he wasn't fully awake when his foot caught on a stair and he flipped end over end downwards.

His fall was cut short when a hand snagged the back of his shirts and jerked him to a halt. He looked around slowly and gulped. _No…. she shouldn't be up this early!_

"Well brat, it's your big day… and you can't even walk straight! Getting all excited about being teamed up with some hot little girl?"

"Anko-neechan..." he gasped her name, twisting in her grip. She was cutting off his air flow, and his face was turning blue.

"Anko-chan, let him go, you're choking him." She blushed slightly and let Naruto go. His fall was promptly resumed as Anko had been holding him off the ground. There was a thud, and Naruto was staring at a blue-clad shoulder. "Now Anko-chan, you know that there are no hot girls in Naruto's grade. Well, except maybe that bluenette Hyuga girl, but she sees our Naru-kun as a brother."

"Thanks Aniki!" Naruto grinned up at his adopted older brother. The older male snorted and rapped Naruto on the head.

"Seriously, I know I trained you well enough for you to keep a hold on your weapon." Naruto blinked and looked at Ronnel's forehead. There was a bruise there. Ronnel jerked his head backwards over one shoulder, and Naruto looked. There on the floor was the staff. The boy thought back, and realized he had let go when he tripped. He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

There was laughter behind Naruto. "And I thought you were good enough to dodge it Ronnel." The shinobi looked over his little brother's head and stuck his tongue out at Anko. Her left hand flashed out lightning fast, the fingers snipping closed just in front of Ronnel's lips. He had twitched his tongue back into his mouth the moment Anko had moved.

Between the two of them, Naruto squeaked. "Guys, let me go before you start flirting!" Two fists crashed into the top of his head, sending him down to the floor. He rolled forward through Ronnel's legs, snatching up his staff. The boy stood up slowly, using the staff to pull himself upright. He looked at the two ninja and gulped.

The two were advancing slowly on him, their eyes flashing dangerously. Naruto bolted through the door next to him, and shot to the table. He plopped down at it, and smiled innocently at them. Both of them glared at him before sighing.

"We're not going to get you to believe we're not together like that, are we?" Anko glared at him as Ronnel spoke. The innocent smile on Naruto's face grew slightly wider as he nodded. The older male sighed deeply and shook his head before there was beeping sound from the left of the table. Ronnel walked over to an oven there and opened it, pulling out a hot pan of cinnamon rolls.

Both of the people at the table had their mouths began watering as the smell from the rolls wafted to their noses. Four eyes locked onto Ronnel as he pulled a knife from a cabinet and began laying an icing onto each roll. When he moved them from the pan to a large serving platter, Anko and Naruto began pounding their fists on the table. A glare from the cook got them to stop, but not before the table had warped slightly.

Ronnel laid the platter on the table in the center and sat down. He reached forward and snagged a roll, watching as the two others devoured theirs. He chuckled.

"That good guys?" He grinned when Anko kicked his leg and kept eating.

Naruto ate four rolls and snagged seven more, causing his two housemates to raise their eyebrows. He stuck his tongue out at them, jerking it back before Anko's nails could catch it, and then sealed the cinnamon rolls into a scroll he laid on the table. The boy stood up and pushed his chair in before walking to the door. He paused there, one hand on the doorframe. He looked back at Ronnel and Anko, who were still eating, and waved.

"Wish me luck!" Instead of saying anything, Ronnel bent over and picked up the staff, which Naruto had forgotten again. He tossed it to the boy, who blushed as he caught it. Anko merely stuck out her tongue at Naruto, who grinned as he headed towards the Academy. He bent over laughing when he heard a startled screech, and kept walking.

In the house, Anko was glaring at Ronnel, who had her tongue caught between his thumb and forefinger. He chuckled as he twisted it slightly before letting go.

"Not so funny when it's your tongue is it?" She reached over and smacked the back of his head and twisted his ear.

"Now that wasn't nice Ronny. Keep doing that and—" This time, it was her head that was smacked. She pouted at him as he shook a finger in front of her face.

"Behave Anko-chan. Well… let's go find out what the old man has for us today." The woman scowled and the pout grew larger until Ronnel tapped it with one finger. She sighed and stood up then went to get ready. Ronnel got up and walked over to a counter and picked up a pot that had been brewing on the stove top. He set the pot down on the counter and got out two bottles pouring the contents of the pot into the bottles. He closed the thermoses and set the empty pot into the sink. He leaned back against the counter and rubbed his eyes tiredly. He looked around the kitchen before walking up the stairs himself to get ready.

**Naruto**

Naruto strode into the classroom early as usual. He went back and sat down near the end of the room at what had become 'his' seat in the past year. The would-be genin stared at the ceiling as he tilted his chair back. _It's been almost a full year since I first came to this class… and I've made what, five friends?_ He chuckled and shook his head as he leaned the staff against the wall. From a pouch came the scroll with the cinnamon rolls sealed in it. He watched as the other students filed in, barely able to contain their excitement about this auspicious day. When Shino and Hinata came in, Naruto waved them over.

The two accepted cinnamon rolls gladly. Hinata bit into hers and squeaked.

"N-n-n-n-n-n-na-naru-naruto, y-y-y-you n-n-n-n-n-need to-t-t-to t-t-t-t-tell y-y-our b-b-b-b-bro-bro-brother that he m-m-m-makes r-r-r-really g-g-g-good rolls." The blonde boy blinked and deciphered the girl's stuttering. Finally he nodded.

"Of course Hinata." She sat down beside him. Both of them turned when they heard a loud buzzing from Shino. The Aburame boy looked at Naruto from behind the dark glasses. "That good Shino?" The kikaichou host nodded and settled in on Naruto's other side.

"Who are the other three for Naruto?" Naruto tilted his head as Shikamaru and Choji walked in. The sleepy genius walked over and sat down in front of Naruto's desk. Naruto watched as the pineapple haired boy laid his head down on the desk. The blonde student jerked his head to get his friend's attention, then picked up a roll. He set it down on top of Shikamaru's open hand, then bent over and whistled directly into Shikamaru's ear.

The spike haired boy sat bolt up right, his hand shooting to his ear. Sadly, he didn't realize there was something on his hand, and ended up flattening the cinnamon roll on his ear. He glared at Naruto, who couldn't help laughing at the sight of icing and cinnamon powder dripping from the Nara's ear. The others were laughing from behind them. Naruto put one hand up placatingly and picked up a second roll. He placed it in front of Shikamaru. The boy grabbed the bottom of Naruto's coat and wiped his ear on it. He ignored the scowl Naruto sent his way and picked up his roll and bit into it savagely.

Naruto shook his head again and went back around to his desk and sat down. He blinked and tossed a roll over to Chouji, who took it gratefully. When Kiba came in, Naruto chucked a pair of rolls over to him. Kiba devoured the first and was about to bite into the second when Naruto's voice stopped him.

"Oi, Dog boy, that one is for Akamaru." Kiba blinked and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, then held the cinnamon roll behind his head. A furry snout shot up and pulled the roll down. Kiba walked over and sat beside Shikamaru as sounds of noisy munching came from his hood.

"So, are you guys ready? Today is our last day here! And I sure as hell don't want to repeat." He high-fived Chouji over Shikamaru's back, then spun his chair around and faced Naruto.

"Ne, are we gonna get to see you put the Duckass in his place again? We-" Kiba jerked his head around at their group – "know you've been holding back since the first day."

Naruto looked around, blinking. Everyone from the group was staring at him expectantly.

"Kiba speaks for all of you doesn't he?" At their nods, the boy sighed. "Fine, fine. I'll knock him down a peg or two. It shouldn't be that hard, especially if he's actually been showing off with everything he can do." He grinned maliciously. "Now then, who wants to place bets on our teams?"

Shikamaru was the only one who pulled out money. Everyone else saw the boy genius place a bet, and didn't want any of it. Naruto grinned.

"Aw com'on guys. So, Shika, what's your bet?"

"Ino – Shika – Cho trio. And I'd say that Hinata, Kiba and Shino get put together. You?" He watched as Naruto pulled out a matching amount.

"With the way my luck's been since coming back to this tow, I'd say I get stuck with the banshee and Duckass himself." A third pile was placed next to Naruto and Shikamaru's. Kiba's voice rang out.

"No way Naruto. They wouldn't put you with two people that you want to kill. I say that you get put on a team with Shino and Shikamaru." The money was collected by Shino, who stated that as an impartial judge, he would decide who won. As no one had really bet against Shikamaru, his money was returned.

The group had to scatter to their seats when Iruka walked in. The class quieted down instantly when he showed up, fearing the Big Head technique he used when they didn't. A few paces behind Iruka came the silver haired Mizuki. Iruka walked to the front of the room while Mizuki stood by the door.

"All right class, today is the day of the genin exams. On the Hokage's order, we are foregoing the paper exam in favor of a series of practical exams. First up is the combat skills exam. Everyone, file outside." Iruka blinked after he finished speaking. The room was vacant. He looked over at Mizuki, who was spinning dizzily.

"I uh.. think they're anxious Iruka-kun." The chuunin spoke when he was standing upright. He proceeded out of the classroom while Iruka looked around at the empty desks. _Wow… they're all grown up. Hard to believe that we may soon be getting a new crop of ninja added to our ranks. I wonder who will pass?_ The spike-haired chuunin strode out, lost in thought.

**Academy Training Grounds**

"All right class, first to fight is… Kiba versus Tentronu." The feral-looking boy hopped into the ring. A plain, nondescript boy dressed in tans walked into the ring as well.

"Hey teach, what are the rules?" Kiba barked out the question. Iruka tilted his head and thought for a moment.

"No jutsu, and no partners in these fights. We want to see your physical combat skills." Kiba nodded and whispered something into his hood. Akamaru hopped out and trotted over to Naruto who picked the dog up and set him on his head, They turned to watch as Kiba dropped into a low crouch. Tentronu moved into the basic Academy Taijutsu stance and several of the group of friends shook their heads, knowing what was coming.

"All right boys, Hajime!" Iruka's hand dropped down, and Kiba leapt forward. Tentronu ran forward, swinging one arm up to block Kiba's jump, his other preparing to strike. His eyes widened in pain when Kiba's sharpened nails lanced into the flesh on his arm. He tried punching anyway, ignoring the pain. Kiba's right leg snapped up and hit the other boy's fist away before his foot whipped out and slammed into Tentronu's stomach. The nails still in Tentronu's arm left bloody furrows as the boy was sent flying. He slammed into a tree outside of the ring. Kiba landed on the ground and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Uh… did I go too far?" Iruka blinked and shook his head slowly. _I have__** got**_ _to tell Lord Hokage just how easily the Academy Taijutsu style can be beaten. That was just embarrassing._ Kiba walked back over to his friends, where Naruto handed Akamaru back to him.

The next few matches passed in blurs, the Clan Heirs easily winning their matches, though none quite as violently as Kiba. Chouji's did come close though, because his opponent nearly crapped himself when the Akamichi boy tripped him and jumped up to do a body slam. Finally, there was only one Clan Heir left needing a fight, and only one student other than him who hadn't fought.

"All right, now for the last match. Will Sasuke and…" Iruka paused to check over the list in his hands. "Uh… will Sasuke and Naruto enter the ring?" The two boys stepped into the ring. Naruto's group of friends were discretely crossing their fingers as they watched the match intently.

Sasuke settled into the Interceptor Fist stance easily. His cold black eyes watched as Naruto stepped on the other side of the ring lightly, the metal staff gripped in one hand.

"HEY IRUKA-SENSEI! THE DOBE IS USING A WEAPON!" Naruto rubbed the bridge of his nose when this screech reached his ears. Before he could say anything, Iruka responded.

"Sakura-san. A weapon is perfectly viable so long as it is not thrown. Now please be quiet so we can start." The girl growled under her breath but went quiet.

"Hajime!" Iruka's hand fell, and everyone tensed, expecting a repeat of the explosive start to the matches. Instead, neither boy moved as Naruto and Sasuke locked eyes.

"It's not too late to give up Dobe." The onyx-eyed boy said in a dead tone. The audience's eyes switched over to Naruto to see how he took that. To their surprise, he bent over laughing. Sasuke took a step back, thrown off by this response to his taunt. _Is the Dobe laughing at _ME_?_ His eyes tightened as a rage settled over him. He dashed forward, aiming to stop just outside of Naruto's range and make him overextend to try hitting him.

Unfortunately for the Uchiha, he had forgotten that Naruto was holding a staff. The metal lunged forward and thumped into his chest, knocking him back several paces. He reached one hand up and began rubbing the spot, wincing slightly. All through this, Naruto had not stopped laughing. As Sasuke was recovering, the blonde haired boy finally got his laughter under control.

"You…you're right Duckass. It isn't too late for you to give up." Naruto straightened up and slid his trench coat off. He tossed it over to Hinata who caught it easily. The boy looked over at Sasuke as he began spinning his staff end over end. He watched as Sasuke's eyes trailed after one end of the staff, the black orbs locked onto the glint of metal. Suddenly Naruto lashed the staff against the ground, causing Sasuke to leap back.

The metal was driven into the ground by almost half its length. Naruto stepped up onto it and stared down at Sasuke. "This, this is how far above you I am Sasuke. Normally I wouldn't make a big deal about it but…" His eyes flickered over to his friends and he shrugged. "Someone asked that I make an exception." The Uchiha snarled and dashed forward, his hands lancing in to strike Naruto's legs.

The blonde haired-boy flipped over Sasuke and landed behind him, their backs almost touching. He spun around and hooked one leg around the Uchiha's and pushed against his other side. Sasuke spun around Naruto's leg and thudded into the dirt. He came up and spat a wad of dirt and saliva out and growled at Naruto, who merely cocked one eyebrow.

"Show me what you got Uchiha. Hey, Iruka-sensei, can the Uchiha and I go all out and have you grade us on our other categories from this fight?" The two boys looked over at Iruka, who nodded. Naruto turned back to look at Sasuke only to be met by a fireball racing towards him.

Reacting quickly, Naruto dropped to the ground. He wasn't quick enough to avoid the flame entirely as his shirt was burnt away and he suffered mild burns on his chest. The blonde fighter flipped over and pushed off the ground, his leg flying up to intercept Sasuke's fist. The hand connected with the heel of Naruto's foot and a loud crack echoed through the area. Naruto jumped to his feet and winced. _He's not too bad. If he wasn't half out of his mind from my taunting, this would be a lot more difficult. It doesn't help that he's fire-natured… Maybe I should have listened to Ronnel-niisan and tried to break my elementalist habit?_ He bounced on his feet, testing out what the impact had done. _A slight sprain. Not too serious, but I'm going to be hampered by that. All right, time to kick it up a notch!_

Sasuke blinked when Naruto's hand lashed out and grabbed the staff to his left. He braced himself for his opponent to use it, and tilted his head confusedly when Naruto tossed it out of the ring. He was about to open his mouth to ridicule the other when Naruto opened a small black scroll and nipped his thumb, swiping the bloody pad across the seal. Naruto caught the weapon that emerged from it and grinned.

"Sorry Duckass, but my staff is a bit too unwieldy to use for my jutsu." Sasuke grimaced at what that meant before sliding his hand around to a pouch on his hip. He pulled out a trio of shuriken and flashed through a series of hand-seals.

"Kaiton: Hosenka no Jutsu!" He spat a trio of small fireballs from his mouth, flinging the shuriken directly behind each one.

On Naruto's side, he flashed through his own series of hand-seals. He had to grin when he heard Sasuke speak. _Feh, some genius… hasn't even figured out that shouting the name of his tech is really a genin move. Let's see how he likes this. __Fuuton: Kamaitachi no Jutsu__._ Naruto lashed his weapon down, the blade-like form of the wood unleashing a trail of wind. The wind attack negated the equal ranked fire attack, something that caused Iruka and Mizuki's eyes to widen. Naruto had to react quickly to deflect the shuriken that had been hidden behind the flames. He reached into his own pouch and pulled out his own trio of shuriken. _Not bad, didn't expect the shuriken. Should have though. Alright, my turn to mess with my weapons. __Fuuton: Yadama Fuurusegieyo._ Naruto threw the weapons as a group, and watched as Sasuke dodged them. He grinned and channeled his will into the technique, the shuriken looping around in the air and hurtling back in at the unsuspecting boy.

Over on the sidelines, Sakura had followed the weapons, distracted by the shine from them. She saw what Sasuke missed, and was about to shout out a warning when a large hand clamped over her mouth. She looked up into Chouji's eyes.

"Now now Haruno, no interference from the audience." He wagged a finger in front of her face and kept his hand over his mouth.

In the ring, Sasuke had cocked his head and shrugged. The deadlast was just standing there, inviting an attack, so he obliged and pulled out a cluster of kunai. Naruto formed a pair of hand-seals then went back to staring vacantly. _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu/ Kawarimi no jutsu._ He shimmered for a moment before steadying, which caused the Uchiha to blink as he threw the kunai, to which he chuckled when Naruto kicked a stone at him.

Then the shuriken hit. He screamed out as the metal prongs bit into his flesh, one in his shoulder, the other two thudding into his lower back. He collapsed to the ground and was about to struggle up when he felt something press against his temple.

"Slam. You're dead." He looked up and saw Naruto standing there.

"WHAT? HOW! WE SAW YOU GET HIT BY THOSE KUNAI!!" Naruto looked up at Ino and snorted.

"What you all saw get hit was a Kage Bunshin. I had kawarimi'd with it and henge'd into the stone the clone kicked at Duckass here. Face it, your precious Uchiha lost."

Iruka nodded. "He lost, but you both pass your exams with flying colors. Naruto, how did that wind jutsu cancel out Sasuke's fire jutsu?" Naruto beamed.

"Because Duckass weakened it. The Hosenka is, in essence, the Gokakyu jutsu split apart. The Gokakyu would have swallowed my wind sickle, but since each fire ball was actually a third as strong as the wind technique, mine won." Naruto slid the truncheon back into the seal scroll and offered a hand to the Uchiha to help him up. He sighed when Sasuke slapped his hand away and struggled to his feet feebly. The blonde haired boy slid behind the other and pulled his shuriken out of the Uchiha's back before sealing them into a separate scroll. _Need to clean those before I put them back with the others._ He walked over to his friends and looked at them.

"Well?" Kiba slapped him on the back and grinned.

"Way to go man! That's what I'm talking about!" Similar compliments came from the others, with a stuttering Hinata handing Naruto back his coat.

The other tests passed by in a daze for the blondie, his mind noting only when one of his friends was passing a test. The class was taken back inside as the teachers went to grade. Mizuki took the second half of the group to grade with Iruka taking the first half.

In the grading room, Mizuki chuckled darkly when he figured out how he could get his scheme to work. On the front of Naruto's paper, he wrote 'FAIL' in heavy kanji. Underneath it, he wrote a message to Naruto requesting the boy to speak with him after class. He exited the room at the same time Iruka emerged from his, the two chuunin nodding to each other.

The teachers passed out the papers quickly, then dismissed the class. Naruto had flipped his paper over after receiving it, and waved his friends out before him. He waited patiently, ignoring Iruka's confused look. When Mizuki left, Naruto followed the silver haired chuunin out.

The man motioned for Naruto to enter an empty classroom. "You're probably wondering why you failed right? Well… it's because you can't manage to make a Bunshin. I know it seems harsh, but you can't pass this test with a Kage Bunshin." The man patted the boy on the shoulder sympathetically. Naruto sighed.

"Well, there's always next year I guess…maybe I can make a Bunshin by then." He started to leave when Mizuki's voice made him pause.

"Now Naruto-kun, I said you couldn't pass _this _test. There is an alternative though…" Naruto whipped around, a pleading expression settling onto his face. Mizuki chuckled in his mind at the gullibility of the boy. _I can have him get the scroll, then burn him.. I'll say the scroll burned when he did. I'll have the scroll like Master wants, and I'll be the hero of the town!_ He explained the 'test' to Naruto, who nodded eagerly and agreed. When the silver haired man left, Naruto slapped his palm to his face.

"Does Mizuki think I am _that_ stupid? The only scroll the Old Man would keep in his office is the Forbidden Scroll of Sealing. I'd better let Jiji know there's a traitor. Maybe Aniki and Anko-neechan have an idea?" He headed back towards his house swiftly.

**The Apartment Complex**

Naruto pushed open the door and called out. "Aniki? Neechan? Anyone home?" He grinned in relief when he heard singing coming from upstairs. _Aniki must be cleaning again._ He hurried up the stairs to Ronnel's floor.

"Uhm, Aniki… I need to talk to you, and it's really important." Ronnel tilted one eye down to Naruto, then dropped to the floor. He laid the cleaning rag in his hand on a table and leaned against the wall.

"What's up kiddo?" Speaking quickly, Naruto told Ronnel what Mizuki had asked him to do. The shinobi leaned against the wall and tapped his chin. "Here's what we'll do Naruto-kun. We'll tell the Hokage, and request permission to set a trap. Sound good?" Naruto smiled and nodded happily. Ronnel laid one hand on the boy's shoulder and the two vanished in a swirl of winds.

**Later That Day**

"Shinobi and kunoichi, your task is to hunt down Uzumaki Naruto. He has stolen the Forbidden Scroll of Sealing. I need not warn you of the danger that he tampers with the seal on him, and accidentally releases the Kyuubi no Kitsune. GO!" The ninja vanished, hunting for the boy.

Iruka had hung back, seeing Ronnel near the Hokage. "Ronnel-san… can you tell me what's going on?"

"People should know better than to try tricking a Fox, that's all I'll say." Ronnel chuckled then leapt away.. Iruka watched him go, confused. _His little brother just stole one of the most important scrolls in our village, and he isn't freaking out? Something is going on here. I've got to find Naruto!_ The man shook his head and took off, searching for the boy.

**Woods Outside Konoha**

Naruto slumped against a tree, panting. _I finally got it down! Wonder who is going to find me first, rather, after the ANBU up in that tree I mean._ He chuckled, wondering if Mizuki had fallen for the deception. When there was a rustle behind Naruto, he guessed that Mizuki had. So, when he turned around and saw Mizuki, he blinked in shock. _Wrong sensei… uh oh._

"Naruto! Why did you steal the Forbidden Scroll!" The boy though fast.

"Forbidden Scroll? But Iruka-sensei, Mizuki-sensei told me where to this was when he told me the secondary mission…"

_Mizuki? Why would Mizuki tell Naruto about the… Mission?_ "Naruto, what mis-"

"Ah there you are Naruto! Now complete your mission and hand over the scroll you have in your hands." _Crap, Iruka's here. Screw it, I'll burn him and say the demon killed him. Hehehehehe._

"Naruto! There isn't a secondary mission!" Naruto turned back and forth between the two, adopting a confused look. _I'm sorry to deceive you Iruka-sensei, but we have to get the traitor… and I want to show him my move._

"But Iruka-sensei, Mizuki-sensei told me that I could become a genin if I mastered a move from this scroll and I did! Now I have to give him the scroll and show him the move to pass." Naruto turned and was about to climb up the tree beside Mizuki when Iruka's voice rang out.

"NARUTO, STOP! HE MUST BE A TRAITOR!" The silver haired man snarled when he saw that Iruka had figured it out.

"Naruto… do you know why the village hates you?" He grinned when he saw Iruka's face pale. The man ran up the tree, only to have a Fuuma Shuriken slam into his gut. Mizuki dropped his arm to his side as Iruka coughed up blood. He missed the shadow that passed over Naruto's face, and the hand-seals the boy made. Iruka didn't, and tilted his head slightly. He latched back onto what Mizuki had said.

"Mizuki, you-cough- can't! It's forbidden!" Naruto walked over to Mizuki.

"Why sensei… I'll give you this if you tell me why…" The boy's voice sounded hollow. The silver haired man grinned triumphantly.

"Because Naruto, you are a demon! YOU HOLD THE KYUUBI NO KITSUNE!" A branch fell and landed on Iruka, dislodging the Fuuma Shuriken. A mouth formed on the branch.

"Relax Iruka-sensei, I know he's a traitor. And so does Jiji." Iruka looked up in shock. That was Naruto's voice, but the boy was standing by Mizuki, holding tight to the scroll in his hands.

Iruka's eyes widened when Naruto slowly handed the scroll to Mizuki. The man grinned maliciously and his hands flashed through a chain of seals. Intense blue flames lanced from his mouth, incinerating the boy in front of him.

"Foolish demon! I got you!" He looked down, in his glee forgetting the man to his side. Mizuki pulled the scroll open, his head rearing back when he saw a picture of an orange fox on the papyrus. Both men blinked in shock when the scroll clearly said in Naruto's voice, "Boom." The scroll exploded, throwing Mizuki onto a tree, impaling him on a branch. ANBU units dropped down beside him.

"Chuunin Teacher Mizuki. You are under arrest for the betrayal of Konohagakure, the attempted murder of Umino Iruka, the attempted murder of Uzumaki Naruto, and the attempted theft of the Forbidden Scroll of sealing. Verdict, guilty. Punishment, Hokage-sama?" Mizuki's eyes widened in fear when the Hokage stepped out on the ground beneath him.

"You know the rules Tora-san. Execution." A wet thunk sounded out, and Mizuki's head dropped to the forest floor beside Sarutobi. The branch on Iruka's chest exploded into smoke, a hand reaching out of it to pull out the Fuuma Shuriken.

'Ne, Iruka-sensei, do I pass?" The cheeky voice he thought he would never hear again came from the smoke. As it faded, Naruto was grinning. The boy helped Iruka to the ground, where the man knelt in front of the Hokage. Sarutobi blinked and gestured for Naruto to help Iruka stand.

"Umino-san, Naruto came to me with his older brother a few hours ago and told me of Mizuki failing him for using the Kage Bunshin. They then informed me that Mizuki had told Naruto that if he could steal the Forbidden Scroll and learn a jutsu from it, he would pass. We set this trap to catch the traitor, and it worked beautifully, albeit that we did not intend for you to get injured. Does the boy pass Umino-kun?" Sarutobi grinned, his eyes closing. With shaky hands, Iruka reached up and pulled his hitai-ate off and tied it around Naruto's forehead. The boy shrieked with joy and tackled Iruka, who gasped in pain.

"Naruto…" The boy blushed and stepped back.

"Jiji, can I take him to the hospital?" Hiruzen nodded, and the boy helped Iruka limp towards the hospital, the duo speeding up when they realized that Iruka was in danger of bloodloss.

_Your boy is growing up fine Minato. How I wish you could see him._ The man looked around the clearing and sighed. _Damn. This means more paperwork._ He rubbed the bridge of his nose as he gestured for the ANBU to clean the area and proceeded back to his office.

_**AN**_

_**Sorry about the delay guys. My laptop really bit the dust, and I've been working on getting it running again. I currently have a knife sticking out of the power port to hold it all together. I tried making it a bit longer. My first fights… probably didn't do so well. But now the chapters will be increasing in length. **_

_**Got a question, answer in reviews. **_

_**Should Zabuza and Haku return to Konoha with Naruto? They'll live one way or the other, but if they don't go to Konoha, they'll become guardians of Wave. I'll keep a tally on every chapter, and it's going to be open for three chapters after this (Until Chapter Six), or the end of Wave, whichever comes first.**_

_**Translations: Kaiton: Hosenka no Jutsu = = Fire Style, Phoenix Fireballs**_

_**Fuuton: Kamaitachi no Jutsu = = Wind Style, Wind Sickle Weasel**_

_**Fuuton: Yadama Fuurusegeiyo = = Wind Style, Projectile Control**_

_**Kaiton: Gokakyu no Jutsu = = Fire Style, Grand Fireball**_


	5. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. (Or Bleach, if anyone wants to chastise me on the Shunpo XP)**

**Chapter 4 – Team Assignments **

**Apartment Complex – Five Days later**

Naruto sat staring at Ronnel and Anko, who were both regarding him sadly. "You heard us right brat. You'll likely be assigned to the Uchiha and the Haruno. Lord Hokage says that the reason is because you are the dead last due to your prolonged absence. If you had been around…"

The blonde genin shook his head sadly. "If I had stayed here I'd still be the dead last Anko-neechan. The teachers would have sabotaged me, and because they wouldn't have been able to always kick me out of class, the other students would have been sabotaged as well. While the Heirs would have been fine since they were also receiving training at home, the civilian and smaller clan members would have been in trouble." The purple haired woman sighed. A boy this young should not have to be so mature. She looked over at the man who called himself Naruto's older brother, and wondered what the man had done while raising the boy for him to turn out like this. The person she was watching looked up and returned the stare.

"Guys… seriously, you two stare at each other all the time. Why don't you make it easy on all of your friends and admit that you like each other?" Both of the older ninja whipped their heads around to glare at Naruto, who was grinning to himself. _Oh damn, they're mad at me again. –snicker- Like that's something new. At least I managed to distract them._ His grin widened at his feeling of accomplishment. The boy hated it when Anko gained that pitying look. Ronnel had broken himself of it after a few months of knowing the boy, but the woman who had moved in with them had yet to do so.

Ronnel rocked his chair back out of the way when Anko launched herself across the table, tuning out the sounds of scuffling coming from the other side of the table. Ignoring the screams of 'Not there! DEAR KAMI I WANT TO HAVE KIDS LATER PSYCHO LADY!', he studied the ceiling, wondering what the old man's real intentions for putting Naruto on a team with the only two people he despised in his class. His attention was brought back when Naruto shrieked,

"NOT THE MOUSE!!!!" He decided it was time to intervene before Anko scarred his younger brother. He reached out with one hand and grabbed the back of Anko's coat and hauled her back, not realizing what would happen when she fell from the table. She landed on his lap, blinking. Anko looked at where she was and blushed heavily. The special jounin squeaked and leapt off of Ronnel, running up the stairs. Both of the males remaining downstairs looked after her, one with confusion the other with a widening grin.

"See? Told ya you two like each other." Ronnel pulled the claymore from it's hanging scabbard and smacked the blonde boy on the head with the flat of the blade. He sat back, unaware of the blush on his own face. _Dammit Naruto. I do like her, but she freaks out every time we touch._ He shook his head violently then jerked his head up the stairs.  
"Go get ready otouto. You don't want to be late to the team assignments. Who knows, maybe the old geezer changed his mind." Despite his words, the man did not believe that had happened, and it was evident from Naruto's expression that the boy did not either.

With a slow nod, the boy stood up and trekked up to his room, his feet dragging heavily across the floors. Ronnel him walk up with his face set in a blank stare. He could read the worry in the boy's shoulders. Finally the chuunin stood up and cracked his neck. _Don't worry otouto. I'm going to go talk to the old man to see what his reasoning is._ Ronnel walked up the stairs to his floor to prepare himself. When he passed Anko's room, he tilted his head and paused. Inside was a rhythmic chanting. The young man recognized the tempo and shuddered. _She's plotting something. That's her laughter for when she is planning something big._ He continued on to his own room.

_**Later That Day**_

**Konoha Academy, room 210**

The group of friends sat watching the clock. Today, everyone had arrived early, even the Uchiha. It was Team Assignment day, and no one wanted to risk being left out or forgotten. And there was also the undercurrent of anticipation, with everyone waiting with baited breath to find out who was put on their team.

The clock on the rear wall chimed the hour, and everyone spun to face the front of the class. Iruka walked in slowly, his steps faltering slightly because of the partially healed injury. After arriving at his desk at the front of the classroom, he sank wearily into the seat and folded his arms on the tabletop, his eyes sliding across the room of students contemplatively.

"Well… this is it everyone. Today is Team Assignment day. When I read your name, the two people in your team will most likely become the most important people in your life. I'll start at the top. Team one is…"

**Hokage's Office**

"Damn it old man! You're putting him on the worst possible team. Both of those people hate him!" Ronnel slapped the desk in front of Sarutobi. The leader of the village looked troubled for a moment before rising to turn to look out through the large window behind him.

"Rei-kun.. is it really so bad?" Ronnel paused and snorted.

"That bad? Yes. The Uchiha is constantly looking for excuses to fight Naruto, and at times would have used lethal force if an instructor hadn't been around. The Haruno criticizes everything Naru-kun does, trying to get him expelled. Why would you put him on their team?"

"Because I requested Naruto. I think their rivalry would be good for Sasuke." Both Sarutobi and Ronnel looked at the door.

"Get out Hatake. This meeting does not concern you." Ronnel spat the words out, full of contempt for the man. The silver-haired jounin wagged his finger in front of Ronnel's face like the chuunin was a young child being reprimanded.

"Oh but it does. You have an issue with my team, so you have an issue with me." Ronnel was gearing up to tear into Kakashi when the Hokage's voice lashed out.

"Enough, both of you! Sit down and behave like shinobi, not children." The two men glared at each other as they obeyed their leader. "Now then, Naruto is going to remain on the team –" Ronnel sat upright about to interject, "-on a probationary status. If things do not settle down for the team, there will be a restructuring, if need be apprenticeships for both Naruto and Sasuke with Sakura receiving an additional year as she and the Yamanaka heir are the two who are most unfit for duty. And Hatake, the Haruno girl is your responsibility, seeing as you requested her as well. Dismissed Kakashi." The silver haired man stood up with a smirk on his face and vanished in a swirl of wind.

"Do you have anything further to say Rei-san?" Ronnel nodded.

"I do. That man is not interested in training a team, he intends to train the Uchiha. He said it himself, he requested Naruto because he thinks the two will have a rivalry. I bet he chose the Haruno to give Uchiha a support. Mark my words, those two will receive little training from that man." The Hokage stared at Ronnel for a moment, then tilted his head to the door. Ronnel stood up and bowed coldly, then walked out. _You will end up regretting giving in to Hatake's request._

**Konoha Academy**

"Team Seven will be…" Iruka froze as he read the names on the paper. He swallowed visibly, then looked up at Naruto, his expression full of sympathy. "Uzumaki-Rei Naruto…" The boy sank his head onto the desk, knowing full well what was coming from the expression. "…Uchiha Sasuke…" Kiba sighed and watched as Shino pulled out the money from the bet and began tapping it against the table. "… and Haruno Sakura. Your jounin sensei will be Hatake Kakashi." The classroom was dead quiet. The only sound was Shino's footsteps as he walked over to Naruto's desk and laid the prize money down. The Aburame laid a hand on Naruto's shoulder in a consoling manner, then walked back to his desk.

A rhythmic –thud- could be heard a few minutes after that. Hinata looked down and blinked to see Naruto lifting his head up and dropping it to the desk. The –thud- sound continued through the rest of team assignments.

"Team Eight will be Akimichi Chouji, Shikamaru Nara, and Yamanaka Ino. Your jounin instructor will be Sarutobi Asuma." Iruka wished he could tell Naruto it was a joke as he watched a cut open on the boy's forehead. It healed right away, but the boy kept relentlessly pounding. "Team Nine is still active, so Team Ten will be Aburame Shino, Hyuuga Hinata, and Inuzuka Kiba. Your Team leader will be Yuuhi Kurenai. Teams One through Five stay here, Teams Six through Ten return after lunch." The man stood up and walked out, unable to bear watching Naruto bash his head against the table any more.

As soon as Iruka was out of the room, the whole group of friends rushed to Naruto. Chouji and Kiba grabbed the back of the blond boy's head while Hinata gripped his ears. Shikamaru grabbed him in the Shadow Hold as Shino grabbed Naruto's ponytail. Despite all of his friends' methods of holding him back, Naruto's skull met the desk again, shocking the people who had remained in the class. Hinata changed her tactics and jabbed several tenketsu on Naruto's neck, immobilizing him. The others let go, only to resume their grips when Naruto slowly trembled upwards.

"Uzumaki-Rei Naruto! THAT IS ENOUGH!" A sharp retort cracked through the room, making the group look to the front. Anko was standing there, her face hard. "What would your brother say if he saw you like this?" The boy's face hardened before sagging. He stood up slowly and looked at his friends.

"Ramen guys? I'll meet you there." They nodded and walked towards Ichiraku's while Naruto walked up to Anko. "Nee-chan, where is Aniki?" He asked the question softly. Anko rubbed his hair before answering.

"He went up to the old man to protest this. If he can, he'll be getting your team changed." Naruto's face lit up when he heard that. If anyone could get this changed, it was Ronnel. Moving suddenly, he wrapped his arms around Anko's waist, then took off towards the ramen shop.

After a moment, Anko looked towards the wall. "Why didn't you tell him you were here?" A portion of the wall faded revealing a large man with a pair of swords. The students still in the class fainted in their seats, drawing a contemptuous snort from the present ninja. The man walked over to Anko and wrapped an arm around her waist.

"We should get out of here, it wouldn't do to have scared all the rookies senseless before their sensei could even get here." The duo faded into a shimmer of wind.

**Ichiraku's Ramen Stand**

Naruto slid onto a stool between Shino and Hinata that they had left open for him. "Naruto-kun, we have yet to order. We decided it would be polite to wait for you to start." Naruto grinned and clapped Shino on the shoulder before looking over at Ayame. He held up three fingers.

"Three Uzumaki Specials Ayame-chan." Everyone there blinked. Even Naruto would be hard-pressed to finish three of the massive bowls of mixed ramen. They were also slightly worried, as Naruto did not order more than one unless he was upset and needing comfort. Hinata wrapped her arm around his right arm.

"Onii-san, please cheer up." Dead silence hung in the shop as everyone, including Ayame and Teuchi, stared at Hinata. A single thought ran through their minds simultaneously. _Did Hinata just speak without stuttering?? _The girl who was the focus of their attention blushed.

"W-w-w-w-wh-wh-wh-wha-what?" The stutter had returned, throwing everyone off. Naruto shifted his arm so he was holding the bluenette's shoulders in a loose hug.

"I'll be fine Imouto-san. Aniki is trying to get Jiji to change his mind about my team." The group relaxed at that. Everyone turned to order their own ramen.

_Things won't go well if Rei-san can't get Naruto's team changed. I doubt they'll just randomly switch the teams, the old man seemed pretty intent on having me paired with Chouji and Ino._ Shikamaru grunted and rested his chin on his palm, muttering "Mendokousai." _Who could Naruto get paired with if they did change the teams? I can't think of anyone who would match him well enough… wait, what if he got… that could work. _A ghost of a smile crossed the lips of the lazy genius.

The curtains ruffled as a pair of figures walked in. Naruto heard the footsteps and his head sank. Kiba and Akamaru's hackles rose.

"Oi Dobe, you better not hold me back too much."

"Yeah! Sasuke-kun is such a better shinobi than you are!" A finger jabbed Naruto's shoulder. Hinata's hand snapped out and grabbed Naruto's wrist and held it placatingly while Shino and Kiba stood up and moved between Naruto and the new arrivals. Ayame and Teuchi pulled into the back of the shop when they felt the tension rise.

Kikaichou crawled out of Shino's jacket and Akamaru leapt to the ground in front of Kiba. Chouji stood up and cracked his shoulders.

"All of you, settle down!"

"Sit the fuck down brats!"

"Maa, am I interrupting something?" Three voices came from the entrance together, causing the rookie group there to freeze in their places. Faces turned to look at the entrance where, three ninja stood, two looking angrily at the group, the third holding an orange book that made Naruto growl when he recognized it.

Ronnel and Anko walked over to the stand and grabbed the back of the boy's jackets. Ronnel hoisted Akamaru into the air and placed him in Kiba's hood again then sat the boy down in one of the open seats. Anko did the same with the boys she was holding. A glare sent Sasuke and Sakura out of the shop. Kakashi looked at the group then sighed and walked out after the two children.

The chuunin and special jounin watched the jounin stalk out with his nose buried in the pervert book before looking at Naruto. The boy had managed to get his ramen from an Ayame who had emerged from the rear of the shop tentatively, and was currently devouring it. Ronnel placed one hand on Naruto's head and shook his head at the other children's inquiring looks.

The blonde boy ignored his adoptive older brother and kept eating, slurping noisily on the broth. When he finished, he closed his eyes with a contented grunt. His head tilted back and the blue eyes opened to look up at Ronnel. The elder male's eyes tightened and a brief handsign later, the two were gone. Everyone who remained focused on Anko, who blinked and mentally cursed.

_Damn that man! Now everyone is going to be bugging _ME_!_ The woman sank onto the stool where Naruto had been and began explaining what had happened.

**Hokage Monument – Sandaime's Head**

Wind and leaves swirled on top of Sarutobi's head, depositing Naruto and Ronnel. The boy said nothing as he strode out to the edge of the cliff and stared across the village. For a while, neither even attempted to speak, but Naruto was never known for being able to stay silent when upset. His voice was as cold as a glacier when he finally did speak.

"So… you couldn't get it changed could you." More of a statement than a question, it sent a pang into Ronnel's heart. He stepped forward and laid his hand on Naruto's shoulder, and flinched when the boy stepped away from him.

"No, no I couldn't. The Hokage refused to change the teams. However…" He trailed off to see if Naruto was interested. The normally vibrant blue eyes of the boy turned to look at him, twisting the older shinobi's heart again to see that they seemed dull.

"However what?"

"I was able to get him to make it probationary. And I did find out why you were put on that team."

There was a spark in the eyes. "Why? And explain about the probationary part of the team." Ronnel grinned to himself. Naruto was still in there, just trying to cope with it in his own way.

"Ok, the reason you were put on the team is because you were requested by Hatake Kakashi. It's not widely known among the genin and lower chuunin, but it is in the Bingo Books, that that man is known as the "Copy Cat of Konoha". The reason? He has the Sharingan. My guess is that he requested Sasuke as the only person who could train him in the use of the Sharingan when, if, it activates. He hand-picked you and the Haruno-" Naruto grimaced as Ronnel spoke, and cut his hand in the air.

"Skip to explaining about the probationary. If we were hand-picked to be on the Duckass's team, I can figure out why."

"You see it too eh? Apparently the Hokage didn't. Anyway, about the probationary status. I asked about it after leaving the old coot, and found out this. There have been times before when teams were formed that didn't necessarily work well together. There is even an instance of a shinobi going rogue simply because he was put on a team he hated. So, the probationary assignments were designed. You will be working with them for missions, up till your first one above C-rank. If, after that mission, it is seen that you do not work well with your team, a change will occur. The Hokage mentioned you and the Uchiha getting put into apprenticeships with members of the village."

Naruto turned back to look out at the village and sighed heavily. _So, no matter what, I have to work with them until we get a B rank mission?_ His eyes hardened at a realization.

"Aniki, what if that guy, Hatake, keeps us doing C-ranks to avoid getting us split up?" Ronnel grinned evilly.

"I asked about that too when I realized that. There was an addendum at the end of the document, amending that to 'First mission above C-rank, or completion of seven C-rank missions'." Naruto walked back over to Ronnel and climbed onto his shoulders.

"You owe me training. Now I have to get back to the Academy to meet this sensei of mine." Ronnel grinned. _Figures he wants to arrive with a bang._

"Shunpo." A line of smoke appeared down the side of the mountain, speeding in zig-zags towards the Academy.

**Konoha Academy**

Hinata looked around nervously. She had appointed herself to be on the lookout for Naruto, who she thought would be greatly upset by what Ronnel had told him. Anko hadn't known of the probationary part, only the reasons for that particular team. Thus, none of the group of friends knew of it either.

Suddenly, Hinata blinked. A line of dust was settling down on the Hokage's face, something which confused the girl. It also put her on guard, as the dust was fast approaching where she was. Within seconds of spotting it, Hinata's hair flew up as something sped past her. Her only clue was a fleeting greeting that included her name. She shook her head, realizing that Naruto had convinced Ronnel to use his speed method to arrive at the school. She followed the settling dust to their classroom, bowing to Ronnel as he stepped out and walked past her. He gave the shy girl a lopsided smile then headed home.

The sight that greeted the Hyuga girl when she walked in made her giggle. Shikamaru and Kiba were propped against a desk, their eyes dazed. Naruto was standing beside them chuckling. Hinata looked at him and he explained that Ronnel had moved right past them, spinning the lighter boys in circles. Kiba had actually fallen over, the reason Akamaru was currently sitting at his feet. Shikamaru had avoided that fate only because he had stumbled against the table and wisely decided to stay there.

Eventually, the group settled down to wait for the arrival of their respective sensei. Naruto clearly avoided sitting near his teammates, preferring the company of Shino and Shikamaru. The three boys, arguably the smartest in their class (and in Shikamaru's case the entire Academy, counting faculty too) were debating what teams would have made better choices than the ones they were in now.

"Look guys, the way they have the teams now is nice, but way too specialized. I mean seriously, look at your team for example Shino-kun. You yourself are probably the longest ranged fighter in your group, but you are only good to mid-range. Both Hinata-chan and Kiba are close range fighters. Your team was designed for scouting and spying." Shino nodded, accepting what Naruto said.

"Yours isn't much to speak of Naruto. Sakura has nothing whatsoever in practical terms as a combat skill, and Sasuke right now is barely acceptable among normal shinobi. Hell, you are the saving grace for your team, and the other two members on it would rather die than acknowledge that." Naruto's face soured at Shikamaru's reminder of his teammates. To forestall Naruto complaining at them, Shino spoke.

"The Ino-Shika-Cho triangle team is an admirable one, but is it not somewhat dated?" Shikamaru nodded for the Aburame to continue. "If your parents made that team so well known, is it not likely that most of the major villages, and indeed anyone they might have encountered, has prepared for just such an occurrence as their children following in their footsteps?" Shika was forced to agree. The three boys sat and stared at the table top between them for several minutes.

"It all comes down to this guys. How can we get the Lord Hokage to change the teams?" Naruto looked up and was about to explain about the probationary status of his team when a man looking faintly like Hiruzen walked into the classroom.

A smoldering cigarette dangled from the man's lips as he stared around the classroom. The boys who had turned to look at him took in the fact that he was wearing the standard jounin attire, except that from his waist dangled a pair of trench knives that looked deadly sharp. The trio blinked when the man somehow managed to speak without disrupting the cigarette.

"Alright, Ino-Shika-Cho are with me. Meet at Training Ground 19." He shimmered into wind and vanished. Shikamaru grunted and stood up. He jerked his head at Chouji and Ino before walking out the door. The Akimichi followed his friend easily, munching on a bag of pork rinds that seemed to appear from thin air. Ino squealed one last time before hugging onto Sasuke's arm tightly then running out of the room shouting at the boys to wait up. Silence hung in the room for a moment before Naruto looked over at Shino and shrugged.

"Wanna bet on whose teacher gets here next?"

"No bet my friend. My kikaichou report that there is a woman standing outside the class now. From what your brother and Anko said, your instructor is a man, making the person outside the class my team's sensei." Naruto grunted and watched as the door swung open.

Ruby red eyes surveyed the room, tightening when they traveled across the boy with black eyes being clung to by the pink-haired girl. _Kakashi had better break her of that. She's a disgrace to kunoichi the world over._ The woman shook her head and continued looking around the room. She grinned happily when she saw Hinata hiding against one wall.

"Aburame Shino, Hyuga Hinata, and Inuzuka Kiba, come with me." Kurenai turned and walked out of the room, missing the wolfish look that came from her canine-loving student. Kiba led the way out of the room for Hinata and Shino. The Aburame paused and laid a hand on Naruto's shoulder and squeezed it before following after his team.

This left Naruto alone with Sasuke and Sakura. He pointedly ignored them, something that only Sasuke realized. Sakura was busy squealing away about how happy she was that she was on the same team as her 'Sasu-kun' to remember that the team had a third member. Naruto sat down near the rear of the room in the lotus position, his mind sinking into itself as he meditated.

_Just great. I'm stuck with Duckass and the Shrieker. What did I do to deserve this?_

_**-- Uh, maybe it's because of me?—**_

_Nah. Jiji wouldn't do that. He has to know what Aniki would do to him if he hurt me because of you. No way he'd risk that._

_**--You have a point. Sorry then, I got nothing. – **_Yes, Naruto was in contact with Kyuubi no Kitsune. He had been for some time, as his meditations had quickly led to him discovering the cell near his stomach. The boy and the demon continued conversing, joking with each other about their teammates.

Two hours passed. Even the normally obtuse Sakura had realized that their sensei was late. Sasuke's teeth were clenched with anger at what he perceived to be a grievous insult. Naruto's left eyebrow was twitching in time with his heartbeat as he fingered a senbon while looking at the clock.

All three had their attention jerked to the door when it creaked open. Sakura squeaked and ducked behind Sasuke, whose face had morphed into a contemptuous sneer. Naruto though, had flung the senbon in his hand, along with four others, at the movement. The person who stepped through the door blinked and looked at the other side of his book, staring at the five senbon that had pierced through the binding material and numerous layers of paper to poke out enough to be seen on the other side. Then the lone eye traveled up.

"My first impression, I hate you guys. Up to the roof." He vanished in a swirl of leaves angrily. Naruto snorted and strode over to the window, throwing it open and heading up. Sasuke glared after the 'Dobe' and went to the stairs, Sakura trailing behind him confusedly.

**Konoha Academy Roof**

Kakashi plucked the fifth senbon from his precious book, flinging the needle to the ground with a snarl of disgust. _That little brat had the gall to hurt my precious._ The man was lost in his ranting and didn't notice a tanned hand snake out and pick up the needle from where it had fallen. The senbon was returned to its container, along with its brethren that had also been retrieved.

"You want to know my first impression of you, Hatake-sensei? You're pathetic. You supposedly hand picked the three of us, then you are late to meeting us. And don't get upset about your perv book, it's your own fault. Showing up that late, I can't know that you are you. After all, the shinobi and kunoichi I know of this village at your rank are all on time." Kakashi spun around and snarled at Naruto.

"Sit down and shut up brat. How the hell did you get up here without me seeing you? I have a clear line of sight on the door." Naruto snorted and obeyed the order.

"I walked up the wall Hatake-sensei. Something I was told was in the Academy's curriculum for all graduating class students. Though I have to doubt just how well the Academy taught us, since they never once mentioned wall-walking to my class." The conversation was cut short when Sasuke and Sakura arrived on the roof, sitting next to Naruto.

Kakashi stared at the blonde boy for a long moment. _Fuck. He knows more than Sasuke. That isn't how it's supposed to be. He's supposed to be the dead-last, someone that Sasuke can compare himself to and feel better than._ He had to force himself out of his musing then, and begin their meeting.

"All right, why don't we begin by introducing ourselves."

"You go first Hatake-sensei. I refuse to introduce myself to someone I don't know." Kakashi growled at that but began.

"Very well then. I am Hatake Kakashi, jounin, and your sensei. I like some things, dislike others –"_ Such as blonde boys right now _ "—my dreams, I forget those when I wake up, and me goal is… to own all the Icha Icha books, signed." Naruto rubbed his forehead tiredly when the older man finished speaking.

_All I learned is that he is a pervert. And that, I already knew. Same for his name._ He decided to pre-empt the older man and spoke quickly to introduce himself. "I am Uzumaki-Rei Naruto. What I like, none of you could possibly give a damn about, and if I said my dislikes I have a feeling they would be used against me. My dream, I won't share since I don't feel like being ridiculed, and my goal is to get the hell off this team." He spat derisively when he finished speaking.

The rest of his team stared at him incredulously for several moments. Eventually, Kakashi gestured for Sasuke to speak. The boy stood up and rattled off his name, then sat back down. Sakura seized this as her turn to speak.

"My name is Haruno Sakura. I like Sasuke-kun-" she looked at him and blushed heavily, "- I dislike the Dobe-" she glared at Naruto, "-my dream is... meep!" The girl blushed heavily, her face turning redder than her shirt before blood erupted from her nose and she passed out.

"Uhm… ok. Meet tomorrow at Training Ground Seven. I advise you don't eat. Time is six thirty. Team dismissed." Naruto was gone before Kakashi finished speaking. Sasuke grunted and walked away, casting a dirty look after Naruto.

The silver-haired jounin stared blankly at the ground for some time. _This is not good. Naruto is supposed to be an idiot I can compare Sasuke to favorably. Instead, he knows things that Sasuke isn't close to. And he hates us, especially me. And Sakura dislikes him—oh crap, Sakura._ The man looked down at the unconscious form of the pinkette and sighed. He scooped her into his arms and shunshin'd to her home to leave her at the door.

_**AN:**_

_**Sorry for the late update guys. This will probably be updated every weekend from now until I get more free time. I'm not going to say how the vote is going until it is all over, so don't ask. And it run longer than I expected since I haven't even gone into the bell test or D rank missions. **_

_**Yes, the **_Shunpo_** is from Bleach, but that isn't what I'm using it as. Ronnel's move consists of straight lines and is primarily a speed move that is unusable in combat. He does have a kenjutsu technique that uses the Shunpo, but other than that, the move is just going to be getting from point A to point B in a hurry.**_

_**No new jutsu in this one.**_

_**Note on Naruto and Ronnel's fighting styles:**_

_** The two of them do not use the same type of fighting. Their moves complement each other, and are not copies. Yes, they do know each other's moves, but that is because quite often they helped the other train in it. But Ronnel cannot use quite a few of Naruto's wind moves, since Naruto has an unnatural affinity for wind in this story, while Naruto cannot use the other elemental jutsu that Ronnel uses. **_

_**-G.T. out!-**_


	6. Chapter 5

_**Chapter Five**_

**Bell Test and Team Missions**

Naruto groaned as he got up the next morning. He quickly dressed himself and reequipped himself. This day promised to be long, and the sun wasn't even up yet! He sighed and began walking down the stairs, pausing when he heard a quiet sniffling coming from Anko's room. He raised his hand to knock on her door and hesitated. The Snake Summoner probably wouldn't like to be interrupted. But at least now he knew that Ronnel had talked to her as well before leaving.

When the blonde Jinchuruuki reached the bottom floor he grumbled as he realised his brother's mission meant that he wouldn't be around to cook breakfast for them a while. He kept grumbling as he reached into a cupboard and pulled out a bowl of oat cereal. He set it down on the table and got out a bowl and spoon, then retrieved milk from the fridge. He was sitting down after pouring his cereal and milk when the woman came down the stairs. She growled at him before he pushed the bowl in front of her and handed her the spoon.

"Relax Anko-neechan. I know, I know. Now will you admit it?" The youth stared at her. She stared back at him, watching her reflection in those eyes that were older than they should be. The two sat there for a moment, staring at each other for a long while. She sighed and shook her head finally. Naruto glared at her as she seemed to crumple in on herself.

To the boy, the attraction between Ronnel and Anko was obvious and deep. It grated on his nerves that neither one would admit they cared about the other as more than friends, but for now there was nothing he could do. He prepared his own breakfast and was sitting down to begin eating when he spotted a clock. The time on it read 7:45.

"Oh crap, I'm late!" He grabbed his stuff and was about to rush out the door when Anko tripped him and flung him back into the chair. He looked at her quizzically.

"Your teacher is renowned for being late, didn't you learn that yesterday? Eating your breakfast won't make you late with that one." Anko sat back down and continued eating while Naruto nodded. As he ate, his mind skipped back to Ronnel shaking him in the middle of the night to let him know that he would be gone on a mission for a while. The younger boy had been about to ask if Ronnel had told Anko yet when he saw the scratches on Ronnel's face and guessed that he had.

Those scratches remembered, Naruto looked up at Anko and blinked. "Ne, Anko-neechan, why did you scratch Aniki? All he did was tell you he was leaving…. If you reacted that badly to him leaving, why can't…" The boy trailed off when he saw a blush creep across the Tokubetsu Jounin's face. _Oh wow, Aniki may have told her, but that isn't why he got scratched! I bet Aniki saw more than Anko wanted him to right then._ The young blonde began grinning widely. He finished his breakfast and cleaned up his dishes before walking behind the still blushing Anko.

"Anko-neechan… if he saw you like that, don't you think you're entitled to a similar view from him?" Her blush deepened for an instant before she realized who it was that was talking. A kunai whipped out through where Naruto had been standing, but the blonde terror had already raced out of the house, catching up his pack and weapons as he sprinted out through the door. The loyal Snake Summoner rubbed her cheeks as the boy's words sank in.

_ Just maybe the brat is right for once._ The blush on her face deepened as she climbed the stairs to get ready for her own day. On the stairs, she continued past her floor on to Ronnel's. She stared down it for a while, then shook her her. _I'll have time to explore later, he said his mission would last a while._ She turned back and went down to her floor to prepare for any missions she might have.

**Training Grounds**

The last loyal Uchiha was grinding his teeth. The Dobe had apparently ditched them for he hadn't shown up on time to their meeting. Not that it mattered, as their sensei hadn't shown up either! For the past hour now he had been listening to the pink-haired fangirl of his shrieking at him about how cool he was. While normally he didn't mind being praised, the girl's voice was damned annoying and it was grating on his nerves. A rustle beside the river had the Uchiha glaring in that direction.

His scowl deepened when he saw that Naruto was there, staring at the three posts set in the river bank. It continued like that for a while, with Sakura shrieking Sasuke's glory, Sasuke glaring at Naruto, and an unresponsive Naruto staring at the wooden posts. This is how Kakashi found them when he showed up an hour later.

This time the one-eyed pervert had his book in his pouch to prevent a repeat of yesterday when the book was perforated by senbon from the blonde student of his. He looked at said student curiously for a moment. _Does he know this place? How, I've never seen him here…_ The man shook it off and looked at his students.

"Alright then team, we've got a test today. This is a kind of survival test." He pulled out two bells and strapped them to his waist. "Your goal is to get these bells from me. Whoever gets one, passes the test." Naruto narrowed his eyes towards the silver-haired jounin and was about to speak when Sakura blurted out:

"Sensei, there are only two bells though, and three of us!" All three males around her winced at the pitch of her voice. She didn't notice it though, staring at the teacher for an answer. Kakashi grunted. So far only one of them wasn't like the profile said.

"Yes Sakura, that's correct. No matter what, at least one of you will fail. And just so you guys know to give it your all; the person who fails my test has to go back to the Academy for another year." All three would-be genin stiffened at that.

_Oh hell no. There is no way I'm going though another year of having my senseis purposeflly sabotage me, even if Iruka-sensei didn't. One out of how many was that?_ The blonde shook his head. There was no way he would fail. So when Kakashi gave them the go-ahead, he sprinted into the trees. He perched in a tree, watching as the other two made it to the treeline after he had. He created a Kage Bunshin and had it move forward towards Kakashi.

"Now you're an odd one, why aren't you hiding?" The silver haired man looked at the clone suspiciously, not realizing what it was. The clone just thumbed its nose at him before running in a circle around him. The jounin ignored it, as it was staying out of combat range. _What on earth is this kid up to?_

While his clone was running circles around the uncaring jounin, Naruto himself was sitting in the treeline thinking. He knew of past squads, and one thing he knew was that they all had four members. A jounin, and three genin. So why had Kakashi told them that only two could pass? Things weren't making sense.

Out in the field, Kakashi grew tired of having blonde flashing in front of his eyes over and over, and finally shifted forward and smacked at the clone. He was surprised when the clone flipped up and grabbed his arm, trying to throw him. However, the silver-haired jounin hadn't had Gai as an "Eternal Rival" for several years without learning something about taijutsu. He countered the boy's lighter weight and spun him against the ground, fully expecting to have stunned the younger male. Thus, he was shocked when the clone poofed into a cloud of smoke. _Kage Bunshin???_ He had no time to think however, as a fireball raced at him from Sasuke. The jounin blinked and spun to one side, narrowly avoiding the surprise attack. He groaned and put his book away.

While Kakashi had been playing with the clone, Naruto had figured out that this was a test of teamwork. He had snuck over to where he had seen Sasuke and tried to convince the boy to work together. His attempt had failed horribly. The Uchiha had rushed out, seeing the clone as Naruto's attempt to win that had flopped. Thus it was his turn to try, to prove that he was better than the Dobe.

Kakashi sighed. "So we're skipping straight to lesson three with you Sasuke. Ninjutsu." The Uchiha Heir shot another Gokakyu at Kakashi, who vanished before the blast hit. Sasuke's eyes darted around. _He's not above me… or on one of the sides, so where NO! BEL---_ His thoughts were interrupted when he felt a hand grab his ankle and tug him under the ground, leaving only his head unburied. Kakashi left the Uchiha there as he went after Sakura, using a genjutsu of Sasuke kissing Ino to knock her out. The man shook his head.

"She was supposed to be a natural with genjutsu, but couldn't even see through that one. Obito-kun, your legacy had better be worth this." He blinked when he spotted the trench-coat clad genin in front of him again, only this time there were three. "Ne, Naruto-san, what's this?"

The three figures snorted in unison. "Figured it out Hatake-sensei. This is a test of teamwork. I tried talking to the Uchiha and the Banshee, but neither one would listen to the 'Dobe'. So, I have to try this my way since I can't get them to work with me." The three Narutos slid into various taijutsu stances before leaping to engage the Jounin.

Kakashi leapt backwards from one clone's kick only to throw himself sideways to avoid a punch from another Naruto. He had no time to rest as the third performed a Painful Sky Leg right where his head had been mere seconds ago as he rolled to one side. He came up and thrust forward expecting to catch at least one of the Narutos, but was thwarted when another caught his intended target and yanked it aside. He growled and ran through a minor chain of handseals, creating his own Kage Bunshin.

"This is a Jounin level move Naruto-san, let me show you how it's really used." The two Kakashi's moved in synch to catch one of the Naruto's, pummeling it into the ground only to have it poof into smoke. They turned and targeted the second and rushed him, one attacking at high-chuunin speed towards the clone's front while the other swung around to the side. The second Naruto merely smirked.

"Boom." It exploded, tossing both Kakashis away, forcing one to dispell into its own cloud of smoke as the other landed in a heap against one of the poles by the riverbank. He laid there stunned by the blast when the real Naruto walked up from the river behind him.

"Sorry Hatake-sensei, but you were never fighting the real me. I'll take these." He cut the bells from the dazed Jounin's belt and walked away, pausing to drop them at the feet of the Uchiha and Haruno.

"This is how much I dislike this team Hatake. I would rather go through another year of the Academy then be teamed with them. However, I know that they can't proceed without me as this is a team test. So make of this what you will. I'm done, going to get some food." Naruto caught up his staff that he had leaned against a tree trunk and slid it into the holster on his back as he walked away.

Slowly regaining control of his stunned body, the Jounin swore never to underestimate the blonde Jinchuruuki again. He had, and been trumped by two Jounin level moves. Honestly though, he couldn't have known that the boy had learned not only the dangerous and powerful Kage Bunshin, but its more combat capable brother, the Bunshin Daibakuha. He sighed though when he realized what Naruto giving the bells to the others meant. It meant that they had passed, and solely because the blonde was unpredictable.

**Hokage Tower**

"Jounin Asuma reporting. The second Ino-Shika-Cho team will definitely live up to their father's reputations." The chain-smoking jounin stepped back.

"Jounin Kurenai reporting. The reconassiance team of Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, and Aburame Shino are functioning well." The red eyed genjutsuist stepped back after her report. The two jounin who had made it on time began talking between themselves, wondering where their third counterpart was. The other teams had already reported failure, but everyone had to stay until Kakshi gave his report.

"Jounin Kakashi reporting. The team of Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, and Uchiha Sasuke passes. They're a bit rocky, but servicable." Everyone turned to stare in shock at the man. Not only was he almost on time, he was passing a team? Their shock only increased when they saw the disheveled state of the man. Something had gone to town on the man.

"Wow Hatake, did your genin open up a can of whup-ass on you?" The random jounin who spoke up was pinned by an intense level of KI from the jounin. However, Kakashi was nothing if not honest, or at least he tried to be.

"No Kyriu, not my team of genin. Just one of them." Even the Hokage was shocked at that one. He motioned for Kakashi to stay even as he dismissed the rest of the Jounin group. The man walked up to the Hokage's desk, looking slightly worse than he had when he had left to meet his genin. He answered the unspoken question on Sarutobi's face.

"It was Naruto sir. He's a lot more advanced than his file from the Academy states. I was informed he couldn't even use the Bunshin, and went in expecting an easy match. Not only did he know advanced Taijutsu, to the point of knowing how to counter me at chuunin speed and use a grapple to do so, I found out that what I was fighting was a Kage Bunshin. I fought with Sasuke briefly before defeating him by pulling him into the ground, and the Haruno girl was defeated by a rank genjutsu. That was when Naruto showed up again, this time three of him. He stated that he had figured out that my test was about teamwork, and said that he had tried to get the others to work with him only to be dismissed. So instead, he fought me with two clones, or at least I though he fought me with two clones. He displayed above average Taijutsu with the clones, until I created a clone of my own. I was able to beat one Kage Bunshin, and had defeated the second to discover that it was an Exploding Clone. This underestimation cost me, as it threw me against a pole and dazed me long enough for Naruto to capture the bells and pass the Exam." The silver-haired jounin hung his head ashamedly.

"I believe that Rei-san was right sir. My team may not be the proper place for Naruto." Sarutobi sighed. It would not do to have one of his jounin doubting himself just as he was taking a genin team for the first time. The man spoke up sharply.

"Enough Kakashi-kun. Your team is probationary, maybe now that Naruto has proven himself to them the others will warm up to him and become a better functioning team." The jounin looked up, his single brown eye brightening once more. He nodded, and the Hokage gestured that he was dismissed. As he sat back, the man puffed on his pipe for several minutes thinking. _I can't give them any B ranks to determine their official status unitl Ronnel reutrns. Then again, do I really want to send Naruto to his older brother as a apprentice, even if he is only adopted?_ He sighed and began running through his lists of available jounin.

**One Week Later**

"This is Whiskers, target sighted."  
"This is Fan, confirming target sighted."

"Flower here, ready to capture target."

"Cyclops. Go ahead team." A brief scuffle ensued, and ended with Sasuke under Sakura, who was under Naruto, who had the cat Tora in his lap.

"Pink bow on left ear, yep, this is our cat." The boy climbed off and went to help Sakura up only to have to snatch his hand away before it was bitten.

"Keep your hands away from me and Sasuke-kun Dobe!" The pinkette had not warmed up to Naruto like the Hokage had wanted. If anything, after Naruto had captured the bells for them, both Sasuke and Sakura had grown more hostile to their blonde teammate. Kakashi sighed at the interaction. He had tried everything he knew, but so far nothing had worked. To make matters worse, Naruto's older brother had been gone since the team test day, and nobody had any clue where he was. The man seemed to provide a foundation for the young boy, and his absence was proving telling. Luckily the other person living with Naruto was helping the boy some, even if Kakashi never could get the boy to say who it was.

Kakashi led Team Seven it to the Hokage's office and watched as they reported their success. Somehow, Sakura managed to claim all the glory for Sasuke despite the boy having done nothing. Kakashi was appalled that things had gotten this bad, but with the council's orders, he couldn't do anything about it. He watched sadly as Naruto hung his head and walked out of the office. Moments later, the other genin followed him, with Sakura pestering the other for a date. The Uchiha Heir ignored her and continued walking home.

Kakashi turned back to the Hokage and shook his head. "Hokage-sama, it's gotten worse. Now if Naruto even tries to go near them, Sakura attacks him." The older man rubbed his forehead wearily. _I am definitely getting too old for this. Fine._

"Kakashi, I have a C-rank mission coming up that needs to be taken care of. In three days time, bring your team here for it. Dismissed for now." The silver-haired jounin bowed and left trying to think of some way to salvage the team he had requested. Things were _not_ going the way he had planned. Sasuke and Naruto were supposed to become like brothers in the way he and Obito had, with Sakura supporting Sasuke and Naruto supporting her. Instead, Sasuke hated Naruto almost as much as he hated Itachi, Sakura despised Naruto, and Naruto couldn't wait for the probationary effect to kick in and switch assignments. The jounin couldn't figure out where things had gone wrong.

**Ichiraku's Ramen Shop**

Naruto slurped down a strand of noodles and sighed. Since being put on his team, he hadn't seen any of his friends, or even his Aniki. Only Anko's reassurances that Ronnel hadn't just abandoned him to Hatake kept the boy sane. His only consolations were that Anko was getting nearer and nearer to admitting her feelings for Ronnel as she got twitchier and twitchier the longer the chuunin was gone, and that Ayame and Teuchi would give him one free bowl of ramen every day that Ronnel was absent.

As he was munching on his noodles he heard a loud voice appraoching the shop. "I'm telling you guys, he's there! Akamaru and I can smell him!"

A softer voice interjected. "K-k-k-k-k-Kib-b-b-b-ba k-k-kun! T-t-t-t-that isn't n-n-n-n-n-ice."

"Sorry Hinata, but it's a bloodline thing ya' know?"

"He is right though Hinata-chan. My kikaichou report that our wayward friend's chakra is indeed in the stall now." This voice was almost as soft as the second, but didn't have the stutter. In through the front of the shop came the three speakers (AN if you don't know by now no cyber cookies for you).

The loud brash one dragged his friend's over to their other friend who was already eating. "Hey Naruto, where have you been man? We kept trying to find you at your house but that crazy snake lady always said you were off with your team. Getting along after all?" Kiba ordered a bowl of beef ramen with a side of raw beef for Akamaru as he turned to look at Naruto. Said boy sighed heavily and shook his head.

"Don't I wish Kiba. Ever since the damn bell test all it's been is Sakura singing the praises of the 'Great Uchiha', and Hatake looking gloomier and gloomier. Never mind that without me they wouldn't have passed at all, and that without me several of our crappy D rank missions would have been utter failures, no… Sakura's always bragging about how Sasuke does everything, and honestly, it's making me sick." Shino laid a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder when the Jinchuruuki was finished ranting. A slight idea flickered across his mind.

"Naruto-kun, on the day of the assignments, you were about to say something about getting out of your team if it turned out unsatisfactory. Care to elucidate now?" The bug-wielder tilted his head curiously. His attempt seemed to be successful, as Naruto perked up upon remembering that.

"Oh yeah! Since Aniki fought me getting assigned to this team, the Hokage set us up as a probationary team. If by the time we have completed either seven C-rank missions or one B-rank we aren't a cohesive team, the team is getting split up. And depending on how will Haruno is doing, she may either get put into the medical program, or get sent back to the Academy. Sasuke will likely get apprenticed to Kakashi, and I don't know about who I'll get apprenticed to." The blonde boy sighed as he continued eating as the others orders were set in front of them. Shino was watching Naruto out of the corner of his eye, and did not like the depressed set to his friend's shoulders. For the moment there was nothing he could do since the only two people who could really cheer the boy up were currently on missions, one to guard an official during his brief visit to Konoha, the other to only Kami knew where.

Hinata was watching Naruto too, and she was taking her 'aniki's' depression badly. She decided to try cheering him up though and scooted closer to him and rested her head on his physical contact from the person he considered family did cheer the blonde container up, enough that he was able to finish his ramen with a smile. And while once Kiba would have taken the familiarity between the two the wrong way, he had been firmly told that it was a sibling affection and nothing more.

**With Anko**

_Honestly, if I have to listen to this little maggot try flirting with me one more time…gah! How I wish Ronnel was here…he always knows how to make worms like this guy back off without bodily harm._ Yes, Anko was on an esccort mission for a young, affluential and wealthy man. Sadly, the man wasn't handsome, or even homely. He had one of those faces that only a mother could love, on top of a body that made Gamabunta look small. All in all, his flirtatious dfvances towards the loyal Snake Summoner were driving her crazy. Thankfully though, the mission was almost over as the Hokage's tower was in sight once more.

Finally, they were standing outside the Hokage's office. The rotund man grabbed up Anko's hand before she could react and slobbered on it in an approximation of a kiss.

"Thank you sho much miss. I really appreciated having you eshcort me around your fine chity. If you're every near my home do look me up." Anko managed to rein in her homicidal impulses long enough for the man to go inside to finish making deals with the Hokage. She turned and shunshin'd home, quickly heating up a pot of water.

When the liquid was boiling hot, she began plunging her hand in. This is the sight that Naruto walked in on. He stared at her for a moment before leaping over to her and grabbing her hand out of the water. From even the few seconds it had been in the water, he hand had turned a cherry red and was blistering. He grabbed burn ointment from a nearby cupboard and began placing it on her hand even as he scolded her.

"Anko-neechan, why on earth would you do something like this???" The woman stared at him blankly for a long minute. Finally, with a slightly cracking voice, she spoke.

"Gods Naruto, where is he… where is Ronnel? I miss him…" The boy was about to make a wise-crack when he saw the haunted look on her face. It reminded him of his own when he woke up and looked at himself in the mirror. He sat down in her lap and pulled her head to his shoulder and neck, stroking her back. It felt awkward for the boy to be comforting the older girl, but he knew that right now she needed it.

"I don't know neechan. All I know is that he said something about a lead on the man who made him a wanderer." He spoke softly as he rubbed her back with slow, even strokes._ Maybe now I can start getting her to admit that she likes Aniki like that.. not right now though.. something happened._ "Neechan, will you tell me what happened that made you boil your hand?" The woman blinked at him for a moment then looked aside fearfully.

"No. You'll think I was just being silly."

"Anko-nee, you're talking to me. Uzumaki Naruto What on earth would _I_ find silly?" The jounin sighed and looked away as she explained about her…mission. After she was done, Naruto just patted her head consolingly. _Oh yeah, once she's recovered I am definitly not going to let up until she admits likes him._ He sighed.

"Anko-nee, go get showered, but keep that hand dry okay? I'll try making us some dinner." He slid out of her lap and shooed her up the stairs. Grimly, he turned towards the stove. _Aniki does this all the time. And Anko-neechan needs something to cheer her up. This can't be that hard._ With that in mind, Naruto began cooking.

Half an hour later, a cleaner and much refreshed Anko came down the stairs in her normal attire. She was faced with a catastrophe when she got to the kitchen. Half burnt, half raw steaks sat on a plate on the table, with clearly uncooked bread dough sitting beside them. She couldn't tell what exactly was in the pitcher on the table, only that it was purple and had pulp. She stood in the doorway, staring at the table, when Naruto's voice rang out.

"I know." She looked around for the boy, and finally found him sitting in front of the stove, rocking back and forth with his knees drawn up to his chest. "I tried the steaks, and failed. But be glad I threw the chicken out… that stuff was almost alive again!" The boy shuddered. "The bread there is the safest of what I could make…. so I gave up and made cinnamon rolls. Those I can make." He just kept rocking back and forth the whole time he spoke. Anko looked around the kitchen, taking in the sights of Naruto's cooking attempts, and began laughing. She couldn't help it, though she did try stifling the laughs for Naruto's sake.

She didn't have to though, as Naruto looked up at her and chuckled himself. _At least it cheered her up. Not exactly how I intended to but still, it did._ The oven dinged, and the boy grabbed hot pads and pulled out cinnamon rolls. He deftly slathered some creamcheese icing onto three and handed them to Anko, who checked them for burn marks before biting in. This is the point that Anko discovered that Naruto hadn't been joking. Cinnamon rolls, he could make. And make damn well. If she had to judge between his and Ronnel's, she didn't know whose would win.

"Naru-chan, did Ronny teach you how to make these?" The boy nodded.

"Yeah, I told him Hinata-imou likes cinnamon rolls, and he showed me how to make them good. These and bacon are about all I can cook though… I forgot that. Anko-neecha, can you summon some snakes with strong stomachs to dispose of the steaks? The bread dough, I think…" He broke off. _I don't know when Aniki is coming home.. NO! I have to keep up a strong face for Neechan._ The boy shook his head. "The bread dough I think I can figure out how to bake safely." Anko looked at him curiously for a moment then nodded and summoned a pair of snakes who were more than happy to eat the meat, messed up as it was. She turned and watched Naruto finish his own cinnamon rolls, then ushered him upstairs to shower and bed down for the night. She turned and looked back at the mess of a kitchen, then sighed. She created a Kage Bunshin and had it begin cleaning up.

_Ronnel, you better get home… I don't know how much longer the gaki and I can go without you._ She turned and trudged up the stair with a sad look on her face.

**Hokage's Tower**

Sarutobi Hiruzen sat back from the crystal ball and sighed. While it didn't seem to have been the best of ideas, he couldn't help but think that they needed this. And Ronnel would have killed him if he had kept the information about the sighting of a man wearing the hitai-ate of the Hidden Hotsprings from him. _Anko, Naruto, I'm sorry. But Ronnel asked that I not tell you where he was going. Makai, even I don't know where he is now._ The elderly man sighed again and sank back into his seat with a heavy groan. He was definitely too old for this.

"I have to either ask Jiraiya to step up his efforts on finding her, or ask him to take the mantle himself. Naruto isn't old enough, and no one else is insane enough to want this forsaken post." The man rubbed his forehead tiredly. At least, from what Kakashi had told him, if Naruto's training proceeded apace, by the time he was old enough he would most likely be the strongest shinobi in Konoha. _Looks like Ronnel will continue being Naruto's instructor. If he succeeds in his mission, I may have to see about having that man take the jounin exams. Can't have a chuunin Apprentice Master after all._ He began working out how the chuunin could take the exams.

**Naruto's Mindscape (AN Betcha forgot about the Kyuubi speaking up hmm?)**

Naruto leaned against the giant fuzzy paw and shook his head. "Ne, do you think that anyone besides Shino and Hinata wil take you being in me well?"

"_**I don't know kit. Only time will tell. I know that you aren't going to tell the Duckass or the Banshee, but what about your future team**__?" _Naruto shrugged his shoulders.  
"That'll depend on who they are. Kyuu…."

"_**Yes?" **_

"Do you think Aniki…"

"_**I'm sure he's fine kit. After all, remember who the two of you took on and beat."**_

Naruto blinked at that and nodded. "That's right. It'll take more than some psycho Jashinist to beat my Aniki. Especially since we beat two of them before, even if they had only just gotten their rites."

_Hey guys, I'm not dead! Sorry, had a speck of trouble trying to get this chapter written. Oo, Ronnel and Naruto have faced Jashin worshippers before? You didn't think Ronnel would go after the man who destroyed his village without any preperation did you? And yes, Ronnel's out of the picture for a bit, and kudos to anyone who can figure out where he's gone. Next chapter begins the Wave arc, so two days from now is when the poll on Haku and Zabuza's fate is determined. Still need a beta reader too guys! Ja ne._

_-G.T.-_

_p.s. REVIEW!!!! Please?_


	7. Chapter 6

_**Chapter Six**_

_**Beginning of Wave, Battle Against the Demon Brothers!**_

**Konoha Main Gates, three days later**

Naruto sighed as he shifted the normal pack of shuriken that he would draw from unless under extreme circumstances. Everything else he needed was stored in sealing scrolls scattered about his person, except for his staff which was leaning against the wall beside him, and his truncheon. He took the weapon out and examined it again, marvelling that he and Ronnel had been able to find a length of sollid lorken wood that the elder had been able to carve into a suitable weapon. He ran his fingers down the three feet of solid wood, sliding easily over the polished material.

"Hmph. Dobe can't even use a real weapon, has to use a wooden sword like a little kid." Naruto looked up with a weary sigh to look at the onyx shaded eyes of the Uchiha Heir. Obviously the boy had never been taught about weapons, or else he would have recognized the truncheon for the powerhouse weapon it was. As he saw Sakura walking up behind the Uchiha, he decided to put the boy in his place once more.

"Hey Foul-Eyes…" Sasuke glared at him right until Naruto brought the truncheon up and to his side, like he was getting ready to use a jutsu. The Uchiha boy blinked and skittered back in a rush, obviously scared. "Don't insult my truncheon when it's what I used to beat your sorry hide in our match, and so easily too." The black haired boy growled at him. Anyone who looked at him could see the rage building in his dark eyes.

Luckily, before Sasuke could start a fight he likely wouldn't win, Kakashi showed up with an older man holding a sake bottle. The man took a swig from the bottle and looked at the boys and the girl.

"Great. I'm paying for a trio of brats and a one eyed man. Blondie there is the only one who looks like he might know something…" the man trailed off, looking curiously at the boy who slid his truncheon back into its holster and bowed. Sasuke's fists clenched at that statement._ How dare this, this…drunkard say that the Dobe is better than me??? _

Kakashi began rubbing his forehead in consternation when Sakura shrieked the same thing that Sasuke had thought. He interrupted her to assure the man that no matter what else happened, he was a jounin and would be able to take care of it. _**(AN Crackashi's normal song and dance when Team Seven meets Tazuna.)**_ Mollified, the man settled down after stating that the team was expected to defend him with their lives. At this, Naruto's eyes tightened. For a C-rank mission, such shouldn't be necessary. The Jinchuruuki was getting the feeling that the sake drinking man was hiding something and decided to be on guard.

The silver-haired jounin looked at his team as they caught up their packs. Sasuke's travel pack was only slightly larger than his back, and seemed to be fitted with the bare essentials from what the jounin could make out. Sakura's pack was easily taller than the girl, and Kakashi blanched when he saw that the girl looked to have at least one kit of make-up near the top, and Kami only knew what else under that. More and more he was doubting his decision to claim the girl for his team.

His eyes travelled to the final member of his team and blinked several times. Naruto had… only a couple more pouches than he normally had. "Naruto, where's your gear?"

"He's the Dobe sensei, he probably didn't even remember to get his spare clothes." The shrill voice made Naruto wince and rub his ears. Kakashi looked at him for an explanation. The boy sighed again, apparently it was a day for him to sigh. He reached into one of the extra pouches he had on his waist and pulled out a small brown scroll.

"Basic campinng gear is in here. One man tent, cot, a small spit, a pot, a bowl and some accoutrements." Kakashi blinked anagin as Naruto pulled out a small scroll with three colors on it. "This is my clothing scroll. Has four changes already set, I can remove one set at a time. I have more stuff in other scrolls, but the rest is all extra stuff I may or may not need." He looked at the jounin, who was staring at him ith a bit of shock. The drunken man had a similar look on his face, while Sasuke had a look of hatred on his features. Sakura had a stunned look for a moment, then her eyes went to Sasuke. Her expression became one of anger.

"DOBE! STOP TRYING TO BE BETTER THAN SASUKE-KUN!" Naruto's eyebrow twitched twice. He placed the scrolls back in his pouch and grunted. He had given up trying to talk sense into the girl and settled for ignoring her. Kakashi intervened before the girl could try punching Naruto.

"Alright, Team Seven. Diamond formation around Tazuna-san. Naruto on point, Sasuke to the left, Sakura right. I'll take rearguard. " The team took their spots, Sakura obviously unhappy to have someone between her and 'her' Sasuke-kun. The team moved out quickly, Naruto leaving a couple clones to talk with Izumo and Kotetsu at the gates.

Once the group reached the treeline, Naruto summoned several Kage Bunshin and had them fan out into the trees around them as roving patrols. He kept only a sliver of his attention on the road as he sank into his mind.

_Ne, Kyuubi-sensei, any chance you'll teach me something new while we're out here? _The boy quiered his tenant as he kept walking. A single red eye opened and blinked before looking down at the mental avatar the boy summoned when still conscious and desired to speak with her.

_** I might Kit, I might. It depends on whether or not you can get away from the Heir to the Bastard and his Banshee, as well as the Cyclops. Wouldn't want one of them to learn your techniques now would we?**_ The Fox Demon closed the eye and chuckled warmly before opening it again. _**Kit, I'm beginning to get worried about your pack Alpha. He's never been away this long, especially not since meeting the purple haired Snakemistress. I suggest you have one of your clones use the Alter tech too morph to a bird and fly back to Konoha to see if you can keep tabs back there.**_

Naruto's avatar nodded thoughtfully. In the real world, Naruto created another clone and instantly dispersed it so the others gained the knowledge. One of the clones that was hanging near the back of the group behind Kakashi received the command and nodded before morphing into an eagle and winging back towards Konoha. Naruto's eyes tracked it before it went over the wall, noting a slight shimmer as it passed over the wall.

_ Kyuubi-sensei… did you…? _

_**Yeah Kit, I saw that. What you just saw is one of the reasons Konoha is almost impossible to infiltrate. There's a chakra barrier over the entire village. From what I remember, a team of ANBU watches over it, monitoring for any outsiders entering the village. Your clone should be fine since your chakra signature is a registered Konoha-nin signature. Now then, time for a refresher course. You and I haven't had time to talk lately, and I want to make sure that you haven't forgotten everything I taught you. First off, what is a Kitsune's prime ability?**_

_ Genjutsu. But I can't use 'em still, beyond the henge and the Veil jutsu. Anything else I overload chakra on. But because you're in me, I've started to become immune to them._

_**Good boy. But be careful, because as both you and I know, there are techniques that can defeat even me. Next up, the element you got from me. Have you begun training with it at all?**_

___No sensei. Except for the Kitsune-Bi, I haven't used any Kaiton tech. Ronnel-aniki tried to get me to use some, but every time I end up channeling wind chakra into the fire tech and it makes a big boom. So Fire tech is out of the question, and Lightning always gets swallowed up so I can't use that element either. I might be able to learn Doton or Suiton, but Aniki isn't ready for me to become any stronger than I am now. He says I already have a name in the Bingo Book, it wouldn't do for that to get kicked up a rank._

_**Kit, real world, now!**_ The Kyuubi cut their talk short and ejected his avatar from the den. Naruto's eyes blinked as he filtered back in. He looked around, curious as to what the Kyuubi had felt. Then he saw two men standing in the center of the road staring at them with dark gleams in their eyes. Or more appropriately, staring at the drunk in the center. He looked at Sasuke and Sakura, but niether seemed to notice the men.

_**They have a genjutsu over them We see through it, they don't.**_ Naruto nodded when the explanation was made. He casually reached back and grabbed the end of his staff, fluidly swinging it out of the holster and in front of himself. He noticed that the people in front tensed when he did this, looking at each other nervously. He took a moment to pause the group.

"Naruto? Is something wrong?"

"No, just want to stretch for a second, my muscles are locking up." Before anyone could suggest moving past him, the boy's staff began flicking out to the sides, covering the entire path. He took the time as he warmed up to study the men in front of him.

They were tall, about Kakashi's own height, but much heavier set. They were wearing dark blue clothing that looked much too heavy for the envrionment they were in, meaning they had travelled from somewhere each had a chain hanging from one arm, connecting the two together. However, it was the masks on their faces that gave it away. These two men were wearing rebreathers, and only the elite of Ame wore that. The elite of Ame, and many, many ninja fron Kirigakure. And since these two were just standing in the center of the road, he doubted they were Ame elite.

_What's a couple of Kiri…ah. explains it. Still doesn't answer why though… gotta find that out. _He settled the staff along his shoulders and sighed. He looked back at Kakashi, and nodded once, seeing that the man had spotted the genjutsu. Naruto still didn't know what the genjutsu was of, but apparently the man could see it and had seen through it. His other teammates appeared not to have noticed though, and that worried the young demon container.  
To him, the two men's move was apparent and blatant. They started running forward, the chain snapping taught between them. Naruto could see that the chain was edged. He sighed and stepped forward a pace, right into the men's charge. The boy slammed the staff into the ground, driving it down into the earth just before the two men got past him. Their chain caught on the metal of the staff, and rather than cutting through it like the obviously expected, it began wrapping around. The boy was treated to the rather comical sight of two grown men being flung off their feet and jerked into each other.

Sadly it seemed that the men had not been hired simply for comical relief though when they immediately disconnected the chain from their gloves. Naruto gulped loudly when claws slid out of hidden sheaths on the gloves, wickedly carved and faintly gleaming.

"Uh guys, be careful, those blades are poisoned." While he normally wouldn't have said anything, the fact that the Banshee and the Emo hadn't even noticed a genjutsu did not speak well for them. Thus, he took more steps than he normally would to protect them. His musings were cut short when the man on the left dashed forward, the claws swinging in at Naruto with deadly speed.

The mman felt his claws sink into something and smiled nastily behind the rebreather. "And then there were four…"

"Hey now! Why on earth are you counting me out???" The indignant exclamation from below his claws had the man snorting in surprise. He looked down and growled before lashing out with his foot and kicking the blonde haired boy who had somehow blocked his attack. What he wasn't expecting was to be jerked off his feet by his arm. He landed in an ungainly heap, but quickly recovered and shot to his feet.

Naruto grinned. His lorken truncheon had saved his life. The claws had stuck fast in the dense wood, and even though the force behind the blow had forced him to his knees, it had been worth it to see one of these Kiri nuke-nin get pulled of his feet again. Looking over at the group though, he saw that Kakashi had vanished, and Sakura and Sasuke were struggling to protect Tazuna against the second man. Naruto's bright blue eyes darkened when he turned back to his opponent.

"Sorry guy, it's been fun, but now the mission is in danger. And Aniki told me when the mission is in danger, I should kick it up a notch." With those words, the boy created a trio of Kage Bunshin. The wisps of smoke they arrived in seemed similar to the normal Bunshin jutsu, which in Naruto's opinion, was what doomed his opponent. The four Naruto's, each wielding a black truncheon, rushed in and attacked the man simultaneously. And while a smarter, or faster opponent might have survived, the man he was fighting had grown accustomed to preying on civilians, occaisonally fighting a couple of genin with his brother. He was unprepared for the concentrated assault coming at him from all sides. The claws flashed out desperately, skewering one Naruto, only to have it explode in a puff of smoke.

That was when the first truncheon struck. The heavy blow snapped the man's arm at the wrist, making the claw hand go limp. He managed to block a second truncheon blow at his side, but then a third slammed home from behind, driving into his kidney. His eyes widened in agony as he toppled to the ground. The truncheon that crashed into his forehead and knocked him out was a blessing.

Turning to look at the other fight, he saw that the second attacker was contemptously swatting aside all of Sakura and Sasuke's shuriken and kunai as he walked forward at a slow, deliberate pace with a gleam in his eyes. The boy scowled for a moment as he watched this, then came up with a plan. The only weapons the man bothered to avoid were the few that Sasuke threw that had explosive tags attached to them. He apparently didn't want to get blown up. Naruto's grin was bright as he created another clone and had it Alter its shape to look like a kunai. He grabbed the kunai and hefted it for a second before grinning.

"Hey jackass!" The man looked over slightly, blinking to see his brother unconscious. A low growl could be heard. That's when Naruto sent the kunai in his hand beaming straight at the man. The man caught the kunai, intending to throw it back at Naruto as an insult. What he wasn't expecting was to hear a small voice say 'Boom'. He looked around, then noticed that the kunai in his hand had a mouth at the tip. His eyes widened when it exploded, tearing off his hand in a shower of claws on his other hand retracted as he grabbed the bleeding wreck of a stump on the end of his arm, screaming in agony.

Naruto's own eyes widened. He had expected the man to deflect it, the resulting explosion would have stunned him long enough to be knocked out. Never one to be caught unprepared though, the boy sprinted forward and slammed his truncheon into the man's jaw, making it snap shut. Naruto watched as something pink and fleshy fell to the ground, and shuddered when he realized the man had just bitten off the end of his own tongue.

Thankfully, Kakashi appeared at that point and dragged the wounded man away. He quickly used a basic medical jutsu to stop the bloodflow. The man would survive, but being unable to talk or use his hand without the help of a strong medic he would never be able to be a shinobi again. He looked over at the first one that Naruto had defeated. That one, they would be able to interrogate. He saw that Naruto was alreadywalking over to the man. He nodded to the boy's inquisitive look.

Sasuke and Sakura were recovering from watching a man's hand explode in front of them. While not as bad as their first kill would be, such an occurrence was a first for the two. Kakashi walked over to the two and put a comforting hand on their shoulders. He looked at their escortee and blinked in shock. The man had curled into a ball and was nursing on the sake bottle like a babe on a bottle of milk. He sighed and herded his wards together even as Naruto dragged the now reviving attacker over to where his partner was lying half-dead.

Naruto had trussed his first foe up like a pig, leaving the man no wiggle room. Slowly his opponent's eyes came into focus. The first thing he saw was Naruto, standing over him holding a kunai in his hand.

"Listen up. You're going to tell me who hired you to attack the drunk."  
"And if I don't brat?"

"Look over at your friend." The man's eyes flickered over to his brother. A long, low moan escaped from his lips. At the end of it was a word that made Naruto's shoulders tense.

"Aniki…." _Well, now I know who they are. The Demon Brothers of Kirigakure. Went rogue when their leader…oh. Crap. He's here._

Despite his realization, Naruto grabbed the man's face. "Look at me. Answer me, or what happened to your brother's hand is going to happen to your ass. I'll ram a kunai with explosive tags on it up and set them off."

The man began babbling about being hired by a Gatou to kill the old man. Pressing the kunai closer to his rear had the man reveal that there were two more in his group, but not even cutting open the man's trousers could get him to say who they were or what skills they had. But that was fine with Naruto. He knocked the man out swiftly and had a pair of clones take the men back towards Konoha. He didn't know if they would get there but he would try. He stood up and returned to the group. His stare at Tazuna told Kakashi all he needed to know.

"All right guys, we're returning home. Tazuna-san, I suggest that next time, you not lie about the difficulty of the mission. You could have gotten my students killed." Kakashi started to lead Sasuke and Sakura away to realize that Naruto wasn't following him. He turned around. Naruto had one hand on the man's shoulder and was talking with him in a low voice. The genin stood up and looked over at the jounin.

"Hatake, you can leave. But we took the mission and I intend to fulfill it completely. I've done that with every hunt my Aniki and I too,, and I'm not about to stop now. And Hatake, if we leave, there won't ever be any missions for us from Wave. Hell, there won't be a Wave at all. I know of Gatou. He latches onto a town and runs it into destitutiuon; then when there is nothing, no hope, no money, no life, left in the village, he abandons it and searches for the next one. He normally uses mercenaries, so missing-nin means that this man here, this drunkard, is actually pretty damn important. I can't concieve leaving a village for Gatou to have his way with, and if this guy can stop that, I want him to live."

Kakashi sighed at this speech. He looked over and saw that Sasuke was already walking back towards Tazuna and Naruto, with Sakura trailing behind him. _Great, they're going to get themselves killed. I can't just leave them to themselves._ He walked back over and picked Tazuna up.

"Alright, we're continuing the mission. But know this Tazuna-san. Your village, once it recovers, will have to pay the full A-rank mission that this has become, along with an interest." He set the drunken man down, pleased to see that the man had sobered up in a surprisingly short amount of time. He looked at the genin team, noting the steely determination in Naruto's eyes, and the barely checked rage in Sasuke's.

_How dare that bastard steal my kill?_ Yes, the would-be Avenger had thought that once the man was close enough that he would just let Sasuke kill him. The boy was conveniently ignoring the fact that when the man's hand had exploded in a spray of blood and muscle issue, that he had frozen instead of taking the kill then. And so it was that once again Sasuke's rage was building towards Naruto for reasons that resided solely in the onyx-eyed boy's head.

And despite the fact that it was Naruto who had stopped the man, Sakura had managed to reverse them in her mind. In her memories, the boy beside her futilely flinging weapons at one man was Naruto, while it had been Sasuke who beat one with his fists and then burned the other alive with a Gokakyu. Her mind had long ago been fractured, when her Inner Personality was born. It was no hard task for the psychotically obsessed girl to switch the events around in her mind, after all, to her at least, there was no way that Naruto of all people could have saved the day.

As this was going on, Naruto, unaware of the thougths of his teammates, was taking point once more. Tazuna directed them towards the trees now, indicating that they had to blaze a trail to get to their destination. The group moved through the trees, each lost in their own thoughts. Sasuke and Sakura were still rehashing the thoughts from before, while Kakashi was wondering just why his ideal team had never become a reality. Tazuna was shivering in fear, having realized just what the ninja around him were capable of. Naruto had retreated into his mind once more, again talking with the Kyuubi.

_**Ok, now that **__**that**__** little debacle is over, where were we? Ah yes. Ok, so the Kitsune-Bi is your only non-wind attack. Ok Kit, have you come any further inmastering my Youki?**_

_ Hai Kyuubi-sensei. It's a lot easier now than it was back when we started._

_**Kit, back then I was fighting you for control over my Youki. Now, since I am willingly relinquishing control over it, it isn't half as destructive, and well within the bounds of your body. Now, just how far can you control it?**_

_ I can manipulate the Unleashed state as well as I do my normal body. I can control the Youki cloak to form claws, hands, legs, or weapons. I can control the Ichibi state almost as well, and with that I can use the Youki to make wings that let me float. No flight yet, but I think that will come when I master a higher tail._

_**Don't get your hopes up kid. I never flew.**_

_ Kyuubi-sensei, you were a massive fox that dwarfed villages. Birds could fly under your stomach when you stood up, and not notice that they were flying under something. You wouldn't have wanted to fly._

_**Hush. Alright then smart-ass. You have Reibi and Ichibi, what about Niibi?**_

_ No. Once I get to the Two-Tailed state, I start losing control. I think I have to completely master the One-Tailed state before I go on to the next level. I'd rather not find out what would happen if I tried going three tailed… that would be scary._

_**Still, the Ichibi state is far more than most people could handle. Combine that with your natural talent for wind manipulation, and I don''t think anyone below high chuunin could hope to match you.**_

___Maybe, maybe not. Aniki asked that I not show my full strength until I reach chuunin. He relented and said the Chuunin Exams though._

__As the mental dialogue continued along in the same vein, Naruto's body was easily ducking under branches and swerving around bushes. What he didn't notice is that several times Kakashi had tried signalling him to switch spots with Sasuke.

The Uchiha heir had decided that the reason that Naruto had won that fight is because he, Uchiha Sasuke, had not truly gotten involved. If he had, then it would have been he, not Naruto, who saved the day. To this end, he had point blank told Kakashi that he wanted the task of being point guard. How the Uzumaki kid had known those guys were there in time to react when all he had seen was their heads poking out of the water puddle, he didn't know. As he watched Naruto seemingly ignore Kakashi, and thus ignore his request, the Uchiha got angrier and angrier.

Finally the boy snapped. He threw a kunai at Naruto's back, grinning maliciously at the sneak attack. His grin vanished as the boy he had attacked did. His head swivelled left and right, searching for Naruto, only to look up in time to receive a fist crashing into his face. His body hit the floor limply, with Naruto straddling it and sending two more punches into the Uchiha's stomach. He stood up and glanced coldly at Kakashi.

"Remember Hatake, you asked for us." That said, the boy walked forward angrily, once more resuming the point guard position. Tazuna turned to ask Kakashi what Naruto had meant by that, but the haunted look on Kakashi's face made him think otherwise. Kakashi picked up his unconscious genin and walked on, while Sakura followed Tazuna. Her eyes kept drifting up along the pack. There was no way her mind could rework this one to put Sasuke in a good light, and now she was growing to not only hate Naruto, but to fear him as well.

After several hours of walking, Team Seven plus Tazuna made it to the shore where there was a small rowboat waiting for them. Kakashi laid Sasuke in the boat before letting Tazuna and Sakura climb in. He stepped in and the boat was off.

It wasn't until several minutes had passed that Kakashi realized that his team was short one. The silver haired jounin looked around quickly, making sure that he just hadn't missed his blonde student. But no, there was no Naruto in the boat. He was about to tell the rower that they had to go back when a hand tapped his shoulder.

"Looking for someone Hatake-sensei?" The man spun around as quickly as he could without upsetting the boat. Sure enough, Naruto was walking beside them, striding confidently across the water. The man blinked then raised his hands up to use the Kai. It didn't work, Naruto was still walking beside him across the water.

"Naruto, how do you know the Suimen Waza?" The man asked slowly. Naruto just grinned cheekily. He was about to answer when he suddenly stumbled on the water, tripping and falling on his face. Kakashi quickly leapt out and grabbed him, holding him up.

Naruto stared at him with a shocked expression on his face. "Hatake-sensei…..I know who's coming for us next… Hatake, he…" The memories of his clones wouldn't fade, scarring the young boy with the callous act they had witnessed before being destroyed. Kakashi looked at Naruto worriedly. The whole time he had known the boy, nothing had scared him like whatever had just happened. He placed the shivering boy in the boat, with one hand resting on his shoulder as he walked beside the blonde container.

Slowly, the shivering faded. Naruto sat up and blinked before rubbing his head worriedly. He looked around and spotted Kakashi walking beside him on the water. He leaned out over the side of the boat and spoke quietly so only the jounin could hear him.

"Hatake-sensei, the man coming after is known as Kirigakure no Kijin. He's powerful and quite ruthless, with only one person he cares about beyond himself. Those men we encountered earlier today were two of his subordinates. I don't know how he found them, but he found my clones that were carrying the Demon Brothers back to Konoha for proper interrogation. He killed one of them, the one who was more severely injured. Then he destroyed my clones. Until his man was dead, he didn't even concern himself that there were two clones there… he killed both of them with one stroke. I don't know what happened to the second Brother, but since he wasn't hurt too badly I would bet that we'll see them soon enough." Kakashi nodded at this information. He gestured for Naruto to rest for a bit as he pondered the intel.

Finally he nodded again, more decisively. He looked at Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke, who was just waking up. "Alright guys. Once we reach Tazuna's house, we'll rest for a day before we begin training. In all likelihood we'll see at least one of the men from today again, along with someone much more powerful. So, I'm going to make you guys train like never before so you stand a better chance." Naruto snorted at this, but made an innocent face at Kakashi when the man glared at him.

_Training this group like never before won't be that friggin' hard Hatake. You haven't really trained us at all. It wasn't you who took those guys out though, it was me. I don't really think you have anything I can learn. Looks like I'm dependant on you for training Kyuubi-sensei._

_**And this is news how? Except for your Aniki, his Snakemistress(**__**AN No pun intended there)**__** and Iruka, the people who've trained you since your return to Konoha can be counted on the fingers of one hand with five left over.**_

_ I had hopes._ The boy cut the mental communication. He looked over at Kakashi and blinked. Was it just his imagination or….

"DUCK!" Naruto grabbed everyone he could reach and threw them down as Kakashi dropped down to the surface of the water himself. A massive blade spun over his head to slam into a box, and the group realized they had made it to the shore.

"Well well well, not bad eyes for one so young. But can you see through this? Kirigakure no Jutsu." The dreaded phrase came as a moment's warning before heavy mist swept over them, obscuring their sight completely.

_**AN  
AAAAND Cliffhanger.**_

_**This chapter was mostly a recap of some of Naruto's abilities, as well as some conversation with the Kyuubi. **_

_**Winner of the little contest is:  
Haku goes to Konoha with Naruto, while Zabuza remains in Wave as its Guardian. Yes, I know some people are having trouble with the fact that Haku would never just up and leave Zabuza, but I have a plan. Besides, you already know that not everything is the same as in canon.**_

_**See ya'll next update!**_

_**-G.T.-**_

_**P.S. –cries happily- The last chapter had THE MOST reviews for any of my chappies. THANK YOU ALL! Or at least, those who reviewed. **_

_**Reviews are very good things to get. Thank you.**_


	8. Chapter 7

_**Chapter Seven**_

_**No Sight Fight and…Training?**_

_Last Time (__**AN Doing this so people don't have to skip back to see what leads into this**__)_

_"DUCK!" Naruto grabbed everyone he could reach and threw them down as Kakashi dropped down to the surface of the water himself. A massive blade spun over his head to slam into a box, and the group realized they had made it to the shore._

_ "Well well well, not bad eyes for one so young. But can you see through this? Kirigakure no Jutsu." The dreaded phrase came as a moment's warning before heavy mist swept over them, obscuring their sight completely._

_Now:_

Naruto and Kakashi were the first to stand up. The mist had thickened immensely, to the point that Naruto couldn't even see his hand if he held it in front of his face. He grimaced, fighting without sight was not a strong suit of his, but he could do it. He looked around and grimaced again, he couldn't even see Kakashi to tell if the man was taking the fight they were now in seriously or not.

Almost as if the Jounin could tell what he was thinking, the man spoke. "I've got it uncovered." While Sakura and Sasuke freaked out a bit at this, thinking that it meant he couldn't handle the fight, some of the tension went out of Naruto's shoulders. Kakashi was taking it seriously, an had uncovered his Sharingan. Thankfully, with the mist as thick as it was, the Uchiha Heir couldn't tell that his precious doujutsu was being used by someone not of his blood.

"Ne, I may not be able to see through your mist now, but I know who you are… Momochi Zabuza, better known as Kirigakure no Kijin." Naruto called this out, then ran forward and rolled. He had timed it perfectly, for seconds after he moved, Zabuza's blade sliced through where the boy had been standing.

"You're starting to impress me brat. You know my name, and you know how to dodge me… now I wish I hadn't blinded us, I'd like to see you at least once before I kill you." The completely serious tone that the man said this in had Sakura, Sasuke, and Tazuna shivering in fear. Naruto grinned sligthly, t looked like Zabuza hadn't recognized his voice. The boy had been contemplating blowing the mist away, but now, he decided that might not be a good idea. Naruto used a bit of wind chakra, and carried his voice a fair distance away for his next words.

"Now Momochi, you should know, that that would not be in your best interests." Almost as soon as he finished speaking, a loud clang was heard, followed by a sharply bitten off curse. It seemed that Zabuza had moved as soon as the blonde Jinchuruuki had begun speaking, only to be fooled by the wind trick. Naruto grinned wider, having confirmed that Zabuza couldn't see through this mist. However, there were other senses to rely on.

"Hatake-sensei, try using what Kiba's family is famous for!" Again, a clang followed by angry cursing. Kakashi looked blank for a moment. _Why on earth would I try using a dog…… oh. Smell. _The jounin resisted the impulse to smack himself on the forehead, then channeled a burst of chakra to his nose, sharply increasing his sense of smell.

At first, all he could detect was a heavy smell of water. After a few moments though, he became acclimatized to the scent of the mist, and began picking out other, fainter scents. _There, blade oil!_ Kakashi spun around and threw a kunai, barely making a sound as it cut through the misty air. That sound was enough for Zabuza to detect though, and he quickly blocked it. His hairless eyebrows rose slightly, stunned that someone had been able to detect him in his fully powered Kirigakure. He overcame it rapidly and began speaking.

"So many places I could cut up your little kids, Sharingan no Kakashi. Should I start with the lungs on the little girl, or maybe the larynx on the black haired kid? Oh, maybe I should cut out the kidneys of the blonde kid who saved you. Or, I can just skip right past you to…" He swung where he had last heard Tazuna, expecting to be greeted by one of his favorite sounds, that of a blade splitting flesh.

Instead, he was met with a loud clang, as something hard and metallic blocked his sword. _Impossible!_ His thoughts were interrupted when he sensed something swinging towards his side. Zabuza quickly brought the Kubikiri Houcho around and blocked yet another kunai from Kakashi, only to feel something slam against his leg. Covering a wince, Zabuza leapt back, disgruntled. Never before had someone been able to match him once trapped inside the Kirigakure no Jutsu! Then his eyes tightened, as he remembered that one person _had_ been able to. But Haku hadn't been able to sense _that_ annoyance's chakra anywhere nearby, and hadn't for almost a year now. And despite the changing relationship between the two, Zabuza knew that Haku wouldn't betray him by concealing that.

Meanwhile, in front of Tazuna, Naruto settled his staff back into place. Kakashi was tracking the dangerous nuke-nin by smell, but he had…another trait enhanced. His ears twitched as he heard footsteps approaching, then a faint whistle to his left. He brought the staff up into a block and grinned to himself as once again the Kubikiri Houcho bounced away from his weapon. In his mind, Naruto was impressed. He had to focus chakra into his ears to be able to track Zabuza, and the man was doing the same thing on pure skill, no chakra! It made him slightly envious.

Zabuza growled as his cleaver was deflected again. _Screw this. I'll take Kakashi out, then dispell the mist so I can kill whoever is blocking me._ He spun around and rocketed towards Kakashi, who blanched as the smell he was tracking intensified greatly. He brought a kunai up quickly, raising it just in time to avoid being split in half. He was thrown violently out of the mist field, his body skipping across the surface of the water like a stone thrown by a child. The silver haired jounin staggered to his feet on the water, staring as Zabuza walked out of the mist sedately.

"Well well well, you're not expanding your mist?" The man quirked his eyes, the three tomoe of the Sharingan swirling as he stared at Zabuza. The Kiri-nuke-nin shook his head contemptously.

"As if Hatake. I don't know how you did it, but you have one of those little brats trained well enough to counter me in the mist. I'm going to kill you, then them." He brought the blade up and ran at Kakashi. Just before Zabuza was in striking range, the jounin whipped his kunai up and threw it into Zabuza's chest. Kakashi blinked in shock when Zabuza and his blade burst into water and coated him. He blinked and wiped the water away, before realizing his predicament. _Oh no, this water's…_

"Suiton: Suiruo no Jutsu." This time, Kakashi's eyes widened in panic as water swirled up and encapsulated him completely. He turned around in his watery prison and saw Zabuza there, smirking triumphantly. "Sorry Hatake, but the tale of the Copycat of Konoha ends here." The sword wielding nuke-nin blinked in shock when he lost sight of his victim. No, Kakashi hadn't escaped. His jutsu was still up and running. Then he realized that _the mist had moved!_ His arm was suddenly knocked upwards, ripping it out of the water and disrupting the jutsu. HE growled in anger before a leg hit him. He hadn't expected the Copycat to recover so quickly. Once more, a body was flung out of the mist. Only this time, it was Zabuza's. Kakashi followed after him, glaring steadily. The sword wielder quickly began running through hand seals, and sent a trio of Mizu Bunshin to fight his foe. He had forgotten the power of the Sharingan though, and was chastised when he saw Kakashi create his own Mizu Bunshin to counter his.

The clones faced off as Zabuza growled again. "How can he –"

"- see me so clearly?" Kakashi grinned under his mask as he finished the man's words.

"Damn you Hatake – "  
" – no one makes a fool of me!" Zabuza began running through seals.

"Let's see you –"

" – match this you damn monkey!" Kakashi was running through the same seals, slightly faster.

"Do you –"

"See the future? Yes, yes I do. And Zabuza, your future, is death." Zabuza nearly screamed in rage and shock when he saw what looked like his ghost standing behind Kakashi.

"Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu!" Kakashi finished his jutsu while Zabuza was shocked by the minor genjutsu placed on him y the Sharingan. The water dragon missile crashed into the man, throwing him into a tree. Kakashi drew out a kunai and was about to kill him when a trio of senbon pierced the man's neck. Zabuza collapsed to the ground completely limp.

"You were right. He's dead. I must thank you for tiring him out for me." A figure wearing the attire of a Kirigakure hunter-nin landed beside Zabuza.

"Now then, his body contains many secrets, and I must dispose of it -" The hunternin picked up Zabuza's body and was about to leap away when a voice cried out from the mist.

"Hatake-sensei! That's a fake! Hunter-nin have to destroy the body at the spot where it fell, it's in their laws!" The hunter-ninja, now revealed to be a fake, quickly flash-froze the ground Kakashi was standing on and leapt away.

In the mist, Naruto grinned. No-Eyebrows was safe. He quickly inhaled then ran through a chain of handseals. "Fuuton: Daitoppa!" A gust of wind ripped out, blowing the mist away. It revealed the boat, with a frightened Sasuke cowering behind an unconscious Tazuna. Sakura and the rower had also fainted, their dead weight now nearly tipping the boat over. Naruto sighed and created a large team of Kage Bunshin, and had them gather up the unconscious people. One clone's nose wrinkled. It dispersed itself quickly. Kakashi looked at Naruto oddly, wondering why the clone had vanished, when Naruto began laughing. The clones carrying people were also chortling.

"Ne….Hatake- sensei… you better hope that Sasuke packed a change of shorts…" The real Naruto was still chuckling, then blinked when Kakashi toppled over. The boy smacked himself on the forehead. _Idiot forgot to cover the damn chakra drain that is his implanted Sharingan._ He walked over and slid the hitai-ate down so it covered Kakashi's Sharinga.n _Does the Sharingan make people idiots?_ The blonde container sighed and snapped the ice that was holding Kakashi's feet, then hoisted the jounin onto his shoulder.

Naruto blinked and looked towards where a tiny, tiny amount of killing intent was being directed at him. Sasuke was standing there, his hands covering his crotch, an evil glare on his face. Naruto just laughed again, then had a clone splash water onto Tazuna's face.

"Ne, old man. Which way to your house?" The man feebly pointed in one direction then passed out again, still trembling from the killing intent that Zabuza had directed at him. The boy shook his head and looked at Sasuke.

"Sorry Foul-Eyes, but I'm not carrying you, and I'm not changing your diaper. You're on your own." Naruto began walking in the direction that Tazuna had pointed in, leading a procession of clones carrying limp bodies. Sasuke glared after him for a moment, striking his 'I'm an Uchiha and better than you pose'. Then the boy realized that he could only barely make out the final clone in the procession, and dashed after them, his eyes darting around the misty area nervously before he caught up.

As the group made their way to Tazuna's house, the rower woke up and excused himself. He mutered something about never getting involved with ninja again as he scurried away. The Naruto clones that had been carrying him shrugged then moved forward and took Kakashi's sleeping form from the real Naruto's shoulders. The blone genin merely blinked, then looked around for a second, before a spare clone dismissed itself and let him know what had happened. A slight nod, and the group resumed their progress.

A few minutes after the rower departed, the team made it to Tazuna's house. A lovely young woman was swaying back and forth as she hummed a small tune under her breath. **(AN – Look up Natsuhiboshi for the tune she's humming)** Naruto sighed in relief when he saw her. Around her eyes, she resembled the old man slung between two of his clones.

"Ne, are you Tazuna's granddaughter?" He called out. The woman spun around with a shriek, disorienting the blonde for a moment. Her scream got louder when she saw that Tazuna was unconscious on what looked like a copy of the boy. She grabbed up her basket of laundry that she had been about to hang up and sprinted inside. The two conscious shinobi could hear several locks slam shut after the door closed. Naruto blinked.

"That….could definitely have gone better…" The blonde muttered under his breath.

"Of course. Did you think she'd react well when a blonde moron began talking at her? You should have let me, the pride of the Uchiha Clan, do the talking." The Naruto clones resisted the urge to smack Sasuke when he spoke. The clones were rewarded for their patience when the main Naruto glanced back at his duck's ass-headed teammate contemptously.

"Some pride Uchiha. Do you mean to say it's an honor for members of your clan to piss their pants when confronted by an A-rank?" Sasuke glared heavily at the blonde. Naruto snorted and ignored it, opting instead to set Tazuna down and lean him against a tree so he would see they were outside his house when he woke up. Sadly for Naruto, Sakura chose that moment to awaken.

The girl flipped out, and began struggling fiercely when she realized who it was that was carrying her. Then, in an action that caused even Sasuke to look at her disgustedly, the girl pulled out a kunai and plunged it into the clone's back, the whole time screaming at it to let her go. The clone, of course, vanished when the blade plunged into it. The girl fell to the ground, splitting her lip open. Naruto's eyes tightened as he received his clone's memories, staring at her coldly.

"I. Am. Not. On. Your. Team. Now." These seven words, spoken with icy feeling, shattered the girl's mind. For it was not Naruto who had spoken, though he looked like he had been about to say something similar. No, it was Sasuke who had spoken. The Uchiha Heir's eyes looked like chips of obsidian as he stared at Sakura.

"Don't bother coming near me any more. I will no longer acknowledge your presence." With that, Sasuke walked over to Tazuna and sat down beside him, completely ignoring the fact that this pressed his pants against him.

From her spot on the ground, Sakura's lips quivered. In her mind, all she had done was get Naruto to drop her.

_**Wow, you really are what the mutt-boy calls you… if that had been the real Naruto, would you still not care?**__ What? I thought you were done…__** Oh no girlie, now, I'm done. Don't bother trying to talk to me either, that was…despicable on a level I never thought you would stoop to.**__ I…but…_

The girl was now truly frightened. Not only had Sasuke told her she didn't exist, even the voice inside her head wanted nothing to do with her! She curled up into a tiny ball there, on the ground where she had landed, the kunai not inches from her, stuck in the dirt.

And that is the sight Tazuna woke up to minutes later. The Uchiha sitting cross-legged next to him, ignoring the world, Sakura whimpering in a little ball on the soil a few feet away, and Naruto standing with his back towards the group, a slightly saddened look on his face. He tried to say something, but for some reason, he couldn't get any words to come out. Sighing, he shook his head and staggered to his feet.

He tapped Naruto on the shoulder, only to stumble back when smooth metal knocked his hand away and pressed against his throat. Naruto's eyes snapped back into focus and he bowed his head in apology as he slid the staff back into its sheathe on his back.

"Tazuna-san, can you get her to let us in? When I tried, she flipped out and ran inside." The old man nodded and walked over to the door and pounded on it, and began talking in calm tones with the woman on the other side. Naruto turned back to make sure his clones had a firm grip on Kakashi so they didn't drop him.

Then the blonde smacked his forehead. _Kyuubi-sensei, I am, a moron. __**And what led you to this startling revelation?**__ I completely forgot about Chakra pills._ There was a loud chuckle in his mind as the boy walked over to his clones and pulled out a small blue pill. He popped it into Kakashi's mouth and forced him to chew and swallow the pill.

Then two things happened at once. Kakashi woke up coughing and sputtering at the same time as Tazuna convinced the woman to open the door. The woman blinked in shock. _I was scared of that?_ A light blush tinged her features as she walked out slowly to Naruto.

"Uhm… I'm sorry for the way I reacted Shinobi-san. It's just that.. we've been having trouble with Gatou's men, and I thought that you were working for him and had captured my father." She bowed apologetically. "My name is Tsunami, and contrary to initial reactions, I'm pleased to meet you." _Especially since Father says you are the reason that he is alive now._ "Come in, come in. I'm sure you're all tired and hungry from the fight against Gatou's rogues." She motioned for the group of ninja to follow her as she walked back inside, following Tazuna.

As Sasuke and Naruto were about to enter, Kakashi's voice rang out. "Anyone want to tell me why Sakura is curled up in a ball on the ground? And why you two were about to leave her out here?" N The Uzumaki-Rei boy and the Uchiha boy looked at each other for a moment before Naruto jerked his head on inside. The blonde boy turned around and sighed.

"Haruno was unconscious after the fight against the Eyebrowless freak. So, I created clones to carry her, as well as you and Tazuna. When we arrived here, Sakura woke up. She freaked out at being carried by me, or rather by my clone, and began struggling." Kakashi made the motion for the boy to continue.

"She drew a kunai and plunged it into the clone's body at approximately the spot of the kidney. Hatake, if that had been any one else, that would have been a deadly wound. Uchiha told her that he would no longer acknowledge her existence, and you know I was already having trouble believing we could be a team. This has just proved my suspicions. And I _will_ be telling the Hokage what she did when we return home. And the other shinobi and kunoichi will be told as well. Hatake-sensei, Haruno Sakura is finished as a kunoichi of Konoha." With that, Naruto turned on his heel and walked inside.

Kakashi leaned back against the tree he was propped against, rubbing his forehead in worry. This mission had been supposed to enforce their teamwork, and instead two of the members were ostracizing the third, albeit completely justified as that third member had betrayed one of them. _I can't believe this…we were supposed to be a great team….and this mission will undeniably get ranked up to an A-rank when we return to Konoha._ The jounin slumped in defeat. His hopes of a dream team were crushed.

Slowly the man stood up and walked over to Sakura and picked her up, carrying her sobbing, twitching form inside. He moved past an uncaring Sasuke and a Naruto who was helping set the table. After a quick question to Tazuna, he took the girl up to a spare bedrrom. He laid her form on a bed and sighed, shaking his head sadly. Naruto was right, once word of what the girl had done got out to the others, no one would accept missions with her. Her career was finished before it had truly begun.

After watching the girl rest for a while, Kakashi made his way back downstairs. He had apparently made it down just in time for dinner. There was a brief pause so Tsunami and Kakashi could be introduced, then they sat down. Tsunami had made a giant pot of pasta coated in a thick red sauce. As official patriarch of the family (and oldest male of all those present) Tazuna was handed the ladle to serve the others. He grumbled about that until he quailed under a harsh glare from his daughter. He hurriedly served the ninja, then his daughter, then an extra bowl, then finally himself.

While Tazuna was serving up the pasta, Kakashi had gotten his hands on the bread knife and a large loaf of bread. With eery proficiency, the man quickly cut even slices from the loaf, handing one to everyone at the table. He paused for a second at the sight of the extra bowl, then shrugged it off as being for Sakura in case she recovered enough to come eat.

The group bowed their heads for a moment, then with a loudly chirruped 'Itadakimasu' from Naruto, began eating. For a while, there was only the only sound was that which was a great compliment to any chef, silence as their food was consumed. The chink of metal against pottery came the fastest from Naruto, as the boy seemingly inhaled his pasta. Sasuke blinked at the rate at which the Dobe was eating, then glared. _I am NOT going to let the Dobe out do me, even if it is in eating!_ He began shoveling his food in faster and faster, trying to keep up with an oblivious Naruto.

Naruto meanwhile, was thinking about the taste of the food, and after some thought, he decided that his Aniki's food was better, but not by much. Of course, the only thing he himself could cook that could even come close to this were his cinnamon rolls. As he was lost in thoughts along this vein, Naruto kept handing his bowl back for more pasta. He continued eating, unaware of the increasingly surprised looks on everyone's faces.

Kakashi, Tazuna, and Tsunami had finished their food, but none wanted to get up. It would mean they might miss how this ended. Niether Tazuna or Tsunami had ever seen anyone who could eat as much as the blonde boy did, and they were curious to see just how much he could eat before getting sick. Kakashi though, was watching Sasuke. He had known Naruto when he was much younger, and had known the infamous ramen sprees where the boy would eat as much ramen as the Ichiraku owner would make him.

What Kakashi wanted to see was what happened to Sasuke if he tried matching the blonde. The Uchiha heir had managed to match Naruto's eating speed finally, and was only three bowls behind his teammate.

But even the funniest of spectacles comes to an end, and this was no different. At Narutos' 23rd bowl, and Sasuke's 20th, Sasuke had to throw himself away from the table. He rushed outside, and anyone who cared to listen soon heard retching sounds emerging from the bushes not far off. Amazingly, it was not for another two bowls before Naruto realized he was the only one still eating. He blinked and blushed.

"Gomen…pushing that mist around wasn't something I'm used to…" Kakashi's eye widened, one of his questions about that battle on the beach answered. He had been wondering how Zabuza had miscalculated and wound up with them in the mist, and now his astonishing student had admitted that he moved it. This was truly impressive as it meant that not only was Naruto skilled with the wind element, for him to have moved the Kirigakure technique without disrupting it meant that he also had a strong affinity for water. But from everything the man had seen, Naruto only used wind chakra when he used elemental chakra at all.

_This team is ending up as far from the original as possible without actually being split up… and even that is going to happen once we return to Konoha. Just what happened to the supposed Rookie Genius of the Uchiha clan, and the smartest girl from her generation? So far, the only one of my students with any real skill is the one I thought would need intensive training, and he's doing it without my knowledge!_ Kakashi sighed. The self proclaimed 'Pride of the Uchiha and Konoha' Uchiha Sasuke had pissed himself the first time he ran into an A-rank ninja, and the so-called supra-smart Haruno Sakura had betrayed her teammate and plunged a kunai into his back for no other reason than that he was helping her by carrying her unconscious body.

Kakashi looked up as the front door opened. The jounin and the blonde haired genin looked up, expecting it to be Sasuke coming back insdie after being ill. Instead, it was a small boy. The child glared at them, snatched up the bowl of pasta and slice of bread, and dashed upstairs to his room, muttering as he went about 'stupid wanna-be heros'. Naruto and Kakashi looked at each other and blinked, then looked at Tazuna.

"That…was my grandson Inari. I'm sorry, but he lost someone close to him recently, and isn't taking it very well." Kakashi nodded, knowing full well the pain of losing someone close. Naruto though, snorted and shook his head. Only a few people had ever let him be close to them, and of them, the two biggest were much stronger than he was. He paused though, realizing that when his clones in Konoha finally ran out of chakra, there had been no word on where Ronnel was, or how he was doing.

Kakashi blinked in shock as the usually chipper mood of his reluctant genin plummeted past Sasuke's sulking mood. Whatever had happened was not good to kill Naruto's mood like that. To distract the boy, he stood up and clapped Naruto on the shoulder.

"Alright Naruto, time for us to get to sleep. You go first, since I know you carried most of us here. Sasuke and I can keep watch for now." The jounin strode outside to explain the set-up to Sasuke, who was still doubled over retching. Unfortunately for the Sharingan-wanna-be, he hadn't bent over in time before he first started vomiting, and now had stains on his shirt to match the stains on his shorts.

Naruto walked up the stairs slowly, feeling uncomfortable in the house, even if it was the house of the client. He knew that he would have to stay in the house until his watch though, that way Kakashi could find him when it was his shift. He slipped into a vacant room and laid out on the floor, pulling a blanket off of one of the beds to form a cushion under him as he curled up. His trench coat was bunched up to perform duty as a pillow, and as soon as the boy's head hit it, he was asleep.

Outside the house, Kakashi was sending Sasuke to a nearby stream to clean his clothes with rocks and cold water. It wouldn't be pleasant for the Uchiha heir, but it would (hopefully) get the stains out of the clothing. The jounin bounced on his feet lightly, then paused abruptly. _Just what the hell did Naruto give me back there? I was passed out from chakra exhaustion, but now I feel as if I'd had a good night's rest along with the best meal of my life…._ He filed the thought away for now, intending on asking the Jinchuruuki about it later.

**Konoha**

Tokubetsu Jounin Mitarashi Anko was running on her last nerve, and it was frayed. A report had finally come in about Ronnel, and it was not good news, but not bad news. Apparently a man wielding a massive claymore in one hand and a bastard sword in the other had been spotted fighting against a man who fought with a very unique scythe. The woman hoped it ended well for Ronnel, for from what he had described, the man he was hunting was easily an S-rank. As she set the report down on the desk in front of Sarutobi, she noticed that he seemed a bit… thrown.

"Is something wrong Hokage-dono?" The woman was on her best manners, fearing that something else not in the report had happened. As an answer, the old man pointed at the location where they had been spotted fighting. While at first the Snakemistress didn't think anything unusual of it, her eyes widened when it finally dawned on her. She looked up at Sarutobi, her face wrinkled as she thought.

"Wow… thought he was headed towards that new village, Otogakure or whatnot. How did they end up there?" Sarutobi shrugged.

"Honestly, I don't know. I told Ronnel-kun to follow the trail until it went cold. But Anko, you can relax a bit. Ronnel isn't going against Hidan. That man is still missing, and Ronnel knows it."

"Then why is he doing this??" The woman slammed her hands down on the desk. Sarutobi took a look at her face and sighed.

"He's doing it to stamp out a malicious and evil group. He has sworn to defeat the Jashinishts, not because of what one of their number did to his village, but rather to prevent such a slaughter from ever occuring again." The special jounin choked back tears. He was willingly pitting himself against madmen and madwomen who could survive having their heads cut off, all in order to protect people he didn't know. _The question is, did Gaki infect Ron-chan or was it the other way around?_ Anko slumped down into the chair in defeat.

Sarutobi reached out and patted her on the head. "It's alright Anko-chan. His opponent is an A-rank, borderline S-rank because of Jashinisht abilities, but do you really think one of them is enough to kill Ronnel-kun? Have a little faith in your man." Sarutobi slipped the words in, his eyes widening thoughtfully when, for the first time to his knowledge, Anko didn't immediately deny that she cared about him.

**Wave**

Naruto came awake instantly when Kakashi shook his shoulder. "Alright Naruto-kun, it's your watch. All seems quiet." The blonde boy nodded and watched as the exhausted jounin threw himself onto the mat Naruto had just been occupying. He shook his head and laughed slightly, heading outside quietly to avoid waking up the sleeping Sasuke.

Once he was outside, Naruto quickly shot up to the top of the house, letting him see all the way around it. He created four trios of Kage Bunshin and had them fan out along the edge, to slow anyone who might show up. His preparations complete, the boy sank back into his mind to speak with the Kyuubi.

_Mindscape_

Naruto looked around and sighed. Apparently Kyuubi-sensei had decided that Naruto needed a reminder in tracking. The boy grumbled and got down on his hands and knees, his enhanced nose sniffing for the faintest scent. Sadly, he couldn't detect even a trace of his sensei's odor. _Crap…drastic measures must be taken…_ The boy shook his head. After the last time they had done this, the boy thought the Kyuubi had learned.

With a brief concentration of his will, a giant rabbit appeared in the clearing beside Naruto. The boy Alter'd himself into a tick and burrowed into the rabbit's fur, burying his chakra signature as he did so. Then, he bit. The rabbit shot up into the air, then began ramming itself into trees. After several minutes of this self-abuse, the rabbit paused and began furiously striking the spot where Naruto-tick had bitten with one of its massive legs.

The rapid and heavy thumping did not go undetected by the other inhabitant of Naruto's mind. A short distance away, a tremondous nose twitched as enormous ears began shaking in place. The Kyuubi stood up and spotted the rabbit in all its massive glory, and literally began drooling. The Kyuubi's higher thought processes shut down at the sight of that brown fur rippling as the leg struck again and again, tempting the poor Kitsune. Finally, even the mighty Kyuubi no Youko could stand it no more.

Teeth flashed as the Kyuubi launched itself forward, sinking its fangs around the spot where the rabbit had been scratching. Unfortunately for both Naruto-tick and Kyuubi, Naruto hadn't been able to move before Kyuubi had struck. The container had the unpleasant experience of being in his demon's mouth. _**(AN Joke or no joke? Don't know yet…) **_With the fast thinking that had always been his trademark, the container Alter'd himself into a giant, squishy, slimy snail.

The Kyuubi's eyes widened comically as this new sensation filled its maw. It spat out the bite of flesh it had taken, and stared angrily at the snail that was glaring back. The demon let loose a heavy sigh when Naruto released his technique.

**"Caught again brat. I don't know how you keep doing it… still, a deal's a deal. What technique do you want to learn?"** Naruto grinned slightly as he thought. When he and Ronnel had finally managed to talk to the Kyuubi, they learned the demon, despite the tendency towards using raw brute forced, was a walking storehouse of jutsu knowledge. Finally, the boy shrugged and asked for a jutsu he and Ronnel had both been anxious to learn.

**"Fuuton: Tei Hakusa eh? All **_right, I guess I have to show you the seals."_ The voice shifted midsentence as the demon shifted its body to a more compact form. It also altered its paws so that is could use hand-seals. The boy sat down and began learning what promised to be a fun jutsu, even as the Kyuubi pondered what its container would do with it. An evil grin spread across its face when it thought about the pranks and such the brothers would be able to pull off if they could manage to learn this jutsu.

_Real World_

The Kyuubi watched through Naruto's eyes as the boy created another team of clones, these ones to practice his technique. The real Naruto began exercising, starting off with lunge walking around the house to warm up. It closed its eyes, knowing the boy would train himself to exhaustion sooner or later.

_**Aaaaand end. Several day time skip next chapter, to the night Naruto and Haku meet up… **_

_**Ok, thought I should explain a skill Naruto keeps using. Alter. It's what HIS henge is in the series, a solid transformation. So when you see that, just think of what he does in the anime/manga.**_

_**I'll give cyber cookies to anyone who can figure out where Ron is and tells me in a review.**_

_**On that note, please people, review! It's lifeblood to writers, really it is! I have over a thousand hits on this, but not even forty reviews….**_

_**Ok, it's late and I can't think anything to type up now.**_

_**Ja ne!**_

_**-G.T.-**_


	9. Chapter 8

_**Chapter Eight**_

_**Meeti---Wait, Reunion?**_

It had been almost a week since Naruto and Kakashi had fought Zabuza on the beach shore. The blonde Jinchuruuki had worked each night with Kyuubi, learning not only the Tei Hakusa, but also a jutsu that he absolutely adored, the Fuuton: Furyuu no Jutsu. He had practiced furiously at night, when the others were asleep, trying to master those techniques. He had finally gotten to the point where he could use them together, riding on the Tei Hakusa whlie sending a Furyuu at his opponent.

All through the night he had been practicing those. And when Kyuubi mentioned that the Furyuu could launch Kaze Bakuhatsu, the boy's eyes had widned and a large grin split his cheeks. The Kyuubi had watched as the boy created a trio of Furyuu, each one blasting the area with Kaze Bakuhatsu. While it couldn't match stronger techniques for speed, the San Ryuu combination that Naruto had come up with was definitely a powerful technique for a genin, or even a chuunin to know.

The young teen looked around the clearing he had created, astonished at the destructive capacity of his technique. The Wind Dragons had erupted from his mouth and each launched a trio of Wind Explosions, tearing apart the forest around them, then rammed into another tree and did more damage than two Kaze Bakuhatsu could have.

_** Alright boy, time for you to learn a more close ranged technique.**_ The Kyuubi sent the image of a chain of seals into the boy's mind as it spoke. _**These are the seals for a powerful close ranged technique, the Kaze no Yaiba. And while the normal technique is actually a blast technique requiring aiming, the variation you are learning actually creates a true blade that is nigh-invisible, and almost impossible to block. Try it.**_ Naruto blinked and ran through the seals that Kyuubi had shown him, salivating slightly at the thought of learning an almost invisible sword technique.

After he finished the technique, Naruto waited patiently for the results, but apparently nothing had happened. He swung his arm around a few times, but the clone he was attacking said that the only thing it felt was a slight breeze. The teen growled before ending his first attempt. He created a group of Kage Bunshin to work on the technique, then blinked as he staggered a bit.

_Kyuubi-sensei?_ _**Relax kit, you're starting to suffer from chakra exhaustion. You've been having too miuch fun with the San Ryuu combo. I suggest you just lay down while your clones practice the Kaze no Yaiba. **_ The blonde Jinchuruuki nodded and sat down against a tree, watching his clones practice. Each time one got closer to finishing the technique, it would dispell, giving its brothers its knowledge.

After two hours of solid practice, one clone gave a cry of triumph before spinning around and lashing at a brother clone. All the Naruto-clones looked on in shock as the targeted clone blinked once before sliding in half and dispersing. The blade-wielding clone slammed its blade into its own stomach after that, earning a wince from the real Naruto as he received the memories. Then his eyes widened as all of his clones finished the technique and dispelled themselves, overloading the poor boy's mind.

His eyes fluttering shut, Naruto collapsed into a slump on the floor, completely unconscious. The Kyuubi panicked. It had felt a chakra signature getting closer, and Naruto had passed out just before it got into sight range. But with its container unconscious, the Kyuubi couldn't see the person.

_I wonder if it could be him? Not many people have that shade of blonde…but no, he's been gone for so long, and neither Zabuza-sama or I have sensed Ron's chakra, and Naruto never goes anywhere without his 'Aniki' with him._ These thoughts ran through the figure's mind as she knelt down next to the slumbering figure who had passed out onto its face. She tapped a shoulder, trying to get the figure to wake up, and was greeted by a resounding snore, albiet muffled by a dirt clod. She giggled lightly before trying again, this time with a firmer tap to the shoulder. Once again, a loud snore met her attempts.

Next, the girl tried rolling the figure over. Her eyes widened in shock as she couldn't budge him on her first try. She glared at the sleeping figure and concentrated chakra into her limbs before trying again. After a moment of struggle, she managed to flip the figure over. When she saw his face, she fell over in pure unadulterated shock.

The whiskers…the shock blonde hair… she reached forward tentatively and pulled open one eye to stare at its color to check something. _It is him! It is Naruto!_ She stood up and began pa ing, rubbing her chin in worry. _Do I wake him up? Do I not wake him up? Why isn't Ronnel-san around?_ Her steps became more and more frantic until she nearly tripped over a small branch. She caught herself and decided. _I'm waking him up. And I'm going to ask why Ronnel isn't here._

She turned around and walked over to Naruto's slumbering form and knelt down beside him. She poked his stomach hard first, sighing when he didn't even twitch. She sighed and grabbed both of his shoulders and began shaking him violently. The boy's head rolled back and forth, yet he somehow managed to stay asleep. She glared at his slumbering form before she remembered a suggestion that Ronnel had given her long ago in case she ever had to wake Naruto up from a deep sleep. For a moment she grinned evilly, then she placed her palms on each of Naruto's temples.

"Sorry Naruto-kun…" She whispered softly before pumping chakra through her hands, and subsequently through Naruto's head. She watched as his hair stood out straight on end, spiking in dozens of different directions. His cerulean blue eyes fluttered open, unfocused and unseeing at first.

"Aniki, five mo…..You're not Aniki." The tone shift had the girl blink before giggling again. She sat back and watched Naruto as he sat up, shaking his head. He began patting his hair down, trying to contain the spiky mess that it had become after the girl's wake-up tactic. Finally, the Jinchuruuki was forced to give up since his hair refused to calm down. Sighing, he turned to look at the person who had used Ronnel's wake-up call on him.

The girl nearly broke out laughing as she watched Naruto blink once, twice, three times, then rub his eyes, clearly not believing what he was seeing. Then her eyebrows shot up when Naruto became a blur, slamming into her with a happy cry.

"Haku-chan! You _are_ here!" The now revealed Haku laughed at the shock evident in his tone.

"Yes Naruto-kun. Zabuza-otou-sama has a job here, so I of course followed him." Naruto froze. _Aww crap, I forgot that._ He got off of his tackle victim and stepped away, furiously punching a tree that was too close to him. Haku sat up, staring at him curiously as she brushed dirt and debris off of her kimono.

"Naruto-kun? Is something wrong?" Her question was met by an incredibly heavy sigh. Naruto rubbed his throat then turned away from her.

"Hatake-sensei! That's a fake! Hunter-nin have to destroy the body at the spot where it fell, it in their laws!" Haku jumped in shock when the cry that had revealed her as Zabuza's helper and not killer rang out in the clearing. Naruto turned around to her, shaking his head. In the same altered voice, he spoke.

"Yeah…. I'm the one who cued Hatake on how to at least stand a chance in the mist, and I'm the one who kept No-Brows from killing Tazuna." Naruto rubbed his throat again, removing the chakra that was altering his voice. "I'm sorry Haku-chan… but I can't let Gatou win this. That old man is the only hope of a nation, and Gatou wants to squash that hope in exchange for money for his own pockets." Haku watched as Naruto's fist clenched. "I don't know why you and Browless are helping someone who is basically doing the same thing that made Zabuza revolt against the Yondaime Mizukage, but I can't sit aside and watch someone like that win!"

"Naruto-kun… we're working for Gatou-teme because we have no choice." Haku's tone was full of sorrow, as well as a slight tinge of frost. "We had no money left ourselves, having run out last time hunter-nin, real hunter-nin, came after us. We have no where to go, no where to turn!"

"That's bullshit Haku-chan! Aniki and I told you you two were more than welcome to come with us!"

"We are tired of being wanderers Naruto! We want to settle down, and the payment from Gatou-teme will let us by a home in a small village…" Naruto snorted in surprise, then Haku blinked in shock when the boy smacked his forehead.

"We're idiots aren't we… Aniki and I forgot to tell you something." Haku looked at him curiously. The self-deprecation had caught the girl's attention. "Aniki and I settled down. We live in Konohagakure now." He jerked a thumb at his forehead, where a headband rested. "We live in this old apartment complex, and except for a girl who has the hots for Aniki, we live alone."

**In Konoha**

Anko sneezed suddenly, and wiped her nose. _That brat better not be telling anyone I like Ron-chan._ She grumbled, then began planning vengance against the boy if he had.

**In Wave**

Naruto felt a shiver go down his spine. He chose to ignore it and continued talking. "The Hokage loves me, and considers me his grandson. I'm sure if I asked he would let you two come live with us."

Haku watched her old friend in shock. Of all the things she had expected to hear him say, that was not one of them. A chance to live with Naruto and Ronnel, and a way out of working for Gatou? It was almost too good to be true. She said as much to Naruto who grumbled about overly suspicious Yuki-hime before replying.

"No-Brows was planning on attacking the bridge tomorrow right? That's about the time length he'd need to recover from those senbon. If we meet there, with Browless and Hatake, I know of a signal we can use to cease hostilities." The girl blinked and tilted her head inquisitively. "The Kazegane. Once you see that, we're done fighting. Can you tell Zabuza that?"  
Haku nodded, slowly at first, then with increasing joy. Zabuza would be happy that he no longer had to work for that despicable Gatou, and she would be able to be with Naruto again. She looked at him, his face blank as he was either lost in thought or talking with his tenant, and hid a small blush. She gave him a quick hug, then dashed off as Naruto looked up confusedly. He shrugged, guessing that she was eager to go talk to Zabuza about living with him and Ronnel.

"Ah crap. Now I've got to warn Hatake and Foul-eyes about the cease-fire." He turned around and began walking back towards Tazuna's house, still slightly exhausted.

Naruto got back to the house at about the time for a shift change. He went inside quietly, pausing at Inari's door. He shook his head at the sounds of soft sobbing coming from inside. _Grow a pair kid. Honestly, life goes on._ _**(AN The Inari/Naruto scene after dinner is basically the same as in cannon, with Kakashi saying anything that Sakura might have.)**_ He walked on, stopping outside the door to the room where a catatonic Sakura still laid on her side, curled into a ball. He sighed then stepped into the next room, kneeling next to the sleeping Kakashi.

"Ne, Hatake-sensei, it's your watch. And I've got a status update for you." Kakashi woke up at once, the mark of a ninja who had been on countless patrols. He sat up, removing the patch he wore over his Sharingan eye at night, quickly replacing it with his headband. As he got up and prepared, Naruto spoke.

"It turns out that I know our opponents quite well. I have managed to arrange a cease-fire between us tomorrow. I'll use a particularly flashy move and that is the signal to end hostilities. They don't want to work for Gatou, but had no choice sine they didn't have any funds at all. In exchange for coming to live with me and Aniki, and possibly becoming Konoha-ninja, they will not interfere with our mission." Kakashi nodded when Naruto finished, tilting his head as he finished strapping his vest on.

"All right. Good work Naruto, you can bunk for now." The boy gratefully crawled onto his cot, barely taking the time to shuck off his shoes before passing out. Kakashi stared at the blonde haired container for a moment, before sighing. It was becoming easier and easier for him to acknowledge just who Naruto's father was, especially when he pulled stunts like this one. The man stepped outside and took up the perimeter watch, his concentration split between his task, and his thoughts.

**The Next Day**

The next day Naruto proved hard to wake up. Kakashi swore under his breath and shook his head. He left a note on the desk beside the sleeping boy and led Sasuke and Tazuna outside. After looking back one last time, Kakashi sighed and sent a silent prayer up that the blonde genin woke up sooner rather than later. The group then turned and headed for the bridge. About thirty minutes after the group left, two figures snuck into the building, gripping weapons tightly.

Upstairs, Naruto's ears twitched. There were footsteps near him that did not match any safe rhythms, and that sent an alert straight into the boy's brain. He came awake quickly, making sure to stay silent. He gripped his staff and slid out of the room after checking to make sure there was no one in it other than him. He checked Sakura's room out of courtesy, and shook his head. The only person in there was the comatose girl.

He crept over to the banister and peered over it, stiffening when he saw what was happening downstairs. Two large men in mismatched armor were in the kitchen with Tsunami. One of them had the woman's arms held tight in his grip behind her back, cruely thrusting her chest forward. His other hand was fondling her roughly through her clothing. Tears were running down her face. The second man was holding a bag open and shoving all of the food he could find into it.

"Don't play around too much Tsubai. Gatou wants her for himself first." This warning came from the man stealing the food. The second man grunted before speaking.

"Eh. I can still have some fun with her before taking her to him."  
"LET MY MOTHER GO!" The scream came from the other side of the kitchen. Naruto looked over, blinking away the red haze that had begun clouding his vision. Standing near the cupboards was Inari, holding a large knife in his hands.

"Oi, Tsubai. How many hostages did Gatou want?" The food theif looked over at his partner with a small, evil grin on his face. The other man released his hold on Tsunami's chest and held up one finger. The man stealing the food grinned wider and turned back to Inari. He dropped the bag filled with the stolen food and drew out his sword. Two and a half feet of rusty steel pointed at Inari as the man crooked one finger at him.

"Come on kid, if you want to save your mother that is." Tsunami looked like she was about to say something when the man holding her thrust two fingers into her mouth. A violated expression crossed the woman's face. Inari charged forward, holding the knife at level with the first man's stomach. The man brought his sword up, smirking cruelly. The blade lashed down at Inari's throat.

There was a clink of metal on metal. The first, un-named man blinked in shock. Between him and his targ-victim was now a blonde haired boy in a cloak. A metal staff was laying across one shoulder, gripped in one hand. That staff had blocked his sword. The blonde haired boy was holding Inari, whispering something into the boy's ear even though the swordsman wouldn't know that.

"Inari, hang on. I'm going to save your mother. Remember kid, the good guys always win." He grinned at the younger boy then threw his hand up, knocking the sword away as he stood up and spun around. He gripped his staff in both hands and began spinning it end over end. The swordsman staggered back in shock. He could swear he heard a buzzsaw coming from the boy's staff.

"_Le moulinet." _Naruto rushed forward, suddenly striking with the spinning staff. The man brought his sword into the way barely in time. He screamed in pain when the blow struck, feeling bones snap under the sudden pressure. The other end of the staff came up and slammed into the man's stomach, knocking him over. A third strike slammed into the man's temple, knocking him out cold, which stopped the screaming.

Tsubai watched in shock as Naruto destroyed his opponent. He pulled his fingers out of Tsunami's mouth and pulled out a knife, which he flung at the boy. He watched in shock as the blade passed through his target without doing any damage.

"D-d-d-dd-demon!" He cried out in fear. He felt a hot breath against his ear.

"Not quite yaru. Shinobi." The staff slammed into Tsubai's spine, paralyzing him from the shoulders down. The staff spun around horizontally, laying alongside the length of the man's skull, throwing him to the side unconscious.

"Game. Set. Match." Naruto spoke coldly as he stood between the two unconscious men. He looked up and flashed a 'V' sign at Inari and Tsunami. Then he quickly tied the two men up like hogs, bending their arms behind the backs and folding their legs up and tying the four limbs together over their backs. He then looped the rope around their throats and tied that around the legs as well. He bowed to the other two, then rushed out of the house, cursing himself for oversleeping.

He landed on the edge of the bridge, his eyes taking in the scene that he had arrived on. Sasuke was standing back to back with Kakashi, the two shinobi blocking what they could of the attacks from their assailants. Zabuza and Haku were circling around them, attacking whenever either Konoha nin would try to perform a jutsu. Everything was at a stalemate though, with niether side being injured. It was more of a question of which side would wear out first.

"No time to spare…" The boy began charging through a chain of seals for one of his unique Fuuton ninjutsu. Wind began swirling along the length of his arm as he pointed it above his 'teammates' heads. He growled then counted to seven, allowing the jutsu to charge fully.

"Fuuton: Kazegane!" He shouted, releasing the fury of his technique. A column of air shot above the Konoha nin, leaving a sharp report echoing in the air. Not even a second later, a large, opaque mass of wind shot over them , following the same path as the air column. The concussive force of the jutsu knocked everyone to the ground, with Zabuza and Haku recovering first as they had been expecting this signal for a while, and already knew what the Kazegane did.

Kakashi and Sasuke shot to their feet as fast as they could, with Kakashi standing down, happy that the ceasefire had been called. A surge of chakra behind him had him spinning away from Haku, his eye widening in fear when he realized he hadn't told Sasuke about the cease-fire.

Zabuza, who had sheathed his sword and was turning to look at Naruto, felt the surge of chakra as well. He spun around, his eyes narrowing in anger, but it was too late. The man barely had time to bring his arm up to block his face when the fireball impacted on his arm. The unexpected attack burnt the man's arm badly, and flung him against a wall. As he crumpled to the ground, his good arm holding the burnt one, he heard a sad clapping.

"Too bad… seems like the feared Demon of the Mist was little more than a whelp! Oh well, at least he wore them out! Boys, get them… and you can have fun with Zabuza's little helper girl." Everyone looked over at these words. ON the other side of the bridge stood a fat little man in a business suit. Behind him stood dozens of mercenaries, brandishing weapons that looked to be in disrepair.

Haku looked up in fear. The fat man's estimate was right. She and Zabuza had been worn down, and now Zabuza was injured badly. Her eyes traveled to the Konoha nin. Kakashi had knocked Sasuke out as soon as he realized what was going on, but too late to stop the jutsu. The only person who might have any real reserves left now was Naruto, and… her eyes widened. Naruto! He hadn't been involved in the fight, and his only technique had been the Kazegane. He would still have strength left!

At the end of the bridge across from Gatou, Naruto clenched his teeth in anger. Red was once again swimming across his eyes. He looked up at Gatou.

_**Naruto….**_

_Yes Kyuubi?_

_**Kill him.**_

_With pleasure._ Naruto threw one hand out to the side, focusing chakra into it. ""Fuuton: Kaze no Yaiba." Wind swirled around his hand before lancing out to create a blade. "Fuuton: Tei Hakusa." Two small orbs of wind formed, one under each of Naruto's feet. He crouched low and shot forward, skating on the wind orbs. Gatou's men charged forward, thinking that it was just one boy and not a real threat.

The Wind Blade sliced through them indiscrimenantly, tearing through leather armor and flesh as if they were tissue paper. Naruto skidded to one side and began dashing back and forth, leveling the numbers with each pass as he tore through their ranks. Naruto's shot to a halt, his blade dissipating as he stared at Gatou's final guard coldly. These men seemed different, held themselves better than the mercenaries that he had just obliterated.

"You four… you are real samurai aren't you." A statement more than a query, Naruto's words were met with the four men activating their chakra armor. Naruto took out his metal staff knowing that against these foes, he wouldn't be able to use chakra or techniques.

The first man stepped forward, drawing out his katana. It shone in the morning sun, another symbol marking him apart from the fodder that Naruto had chopped through. He readied himself, a basic stance that Naruto read easily. _Che… Aniki's a better swordsman than this guy._ Naruto lunged forward, swinging his staff around to strike at his foe's side.

The samurai deflected the boy and countered, running his blade along the inside of Naruto's staff, striking at the young teen's fingers. Naruto rolled his hands around the staff, fingers narrowly dodging the blade. The blonde teen ducked his head as he swung the othe side of his staff over it. The unexpected move caught the man by surprise as the staff slammed into his helmet, forcing him to stumble. Naruto seized on his advantage and slammed his staff home repeatedly, denting the helmet and messing up the man's sight. A final, overhanded blow, sent the man to his back unconscious.

Naruto looked up and grinned cheekily at the other men. The next man stepped forward, drawing out his twin katana. Naruto's grin vanished as he prepared himself, sparing a glance to look back at his allies. Haku was bandaging Zabuza's burnt arm, and she looked frightened. Kakashi was slumped on the ground, having reached his limits. The teen looked back and steadied himself, knowing that if he failed then there wasn't anyone who could stop three true samurai, even if they did appear to be samurai wash-outs.

The man attacked in a blur, swords speeding in to strike. Naruto held his staff up horizontally, tightening his grip on it as he altered the angle slightly. A pair of clangs, and the samurai staggered back as both of his blades reverberated off the ends of Naruto's staff. The teen spotted something and grinned. He leatp back and crouched down, then charged full speed at the samurai. The man brought his blades up with a confident smirk. Naruto leapt up and the inevitable happened. The katana sunk into his torso, spitting him. Haku let out a small scream at seeing the boy hanging there. Then there was a puff of smoke, and the samurai found that his blades were stuck in a log. He barely had time to curse when he felt the staff slam into his knees, toppling him to the ground. A booted foot crashed down onto his skull, ending what he knew of the fight.

"Looks like I have to take you seriously brat." The deep voice that emerged from the third figure's helmet had Naruto raise his eyebrows. He gripped his staff tightly as his opponent seemed to shimmer. The teen barely managed to raise his staff in time to block the overhead blow the man swung. Naruto's arms shook from the force, causing the blonde teen to wince. He was caught in the side bby the samurai's booted foot, throwing him against a pile of boxes

The samurai turned, starting to sheathe his blade when he heard a crashing sound behind him. He spun around, bringing his sword up in time to block Naruto's strike. The man staggered back, shocked. Naruto had put his staff away, and was now using a truncheon of carved lorken bound in a black metal. The man's eyes studied Naruto's weapon, noting that despite catching his own sword on the edge, it wasn't chipped.

"Nice weapon kid. I'll study it once you're dead." He shimmered again, rushing to strike Naruto. His eyes widened when Naruto easily caught the blade against his truncheon.

"Wha…"  
"No one has _ever_ caught me with the same trick twice." The man's foot, which had lashed up to kick Naruto again, was impaled on a kunai. Naruto tore the blade out, tossing it aside. He breathed in, then created a trio of Kage Bunshin.

"See, Aniki told me about you samurai guys…" The four clones struck at once. Three dissolved before striking him, unfortunately he hadn't been aiming at the real one, who slammed his truncheon into the base of the man's neck, knocking him out cold.

The Jinchuruuki turned to face the fourth samurai, who had paled visibly.

"As I was saying, Aniki explained to me about you guys. Samurai. You use chakra armor, that absorbs any chakra used near it to power it. And your weapon, these swords…" Naruto sealed his truncheon away and picked up his last foe's katana. "They create the only chakra forces capable of piercing your chakra shroud. So tell me… how trained are you in kenjutsu?" He sent a pulse of chakra into the blade, watching as a shimmer of energy swirled down it. The samurai growled and charged.

Naruto grinned. This was too easy. He kawarimi'd with a box behind the samurai and plunged the blade into the man's back, immobilizing him.

"Shh…sh.." He carried the man to the ground. "Stay there…maybe someone will help you." He left the blade there as he stoood up to face Gatou. The fat business man was whimpering in fear. _He's just one kid! How could one kid take down four samurai??_ He tried scuttling away as Naruto walked closer, cracking his knuckles with each step he took.

Naruto stopped in his tracks when he felt something fast approaching. There was a sickening thud behind Gatou, causing the petty tyrant to shriek in fear. He turned around, quivering, only to see a mass of shattered flesh. Blood oozed from several open cuts, bones stuck out at random angles. Who the person was though, no one who looked at the destroyed figure could tell, for the head had been removed from the neck.

Naruto frowned at this. But he shrugged and did what a true ninja would. He seized upon his target's distraction and ended it. Gatou looked down to stare in shock as a kunai blade dripping red emerged from his throat. He had time, and breath, left to wheeze out one thing.

"But…I…..wa…s …rich.." Blood spurted from the wound as Naruto removed his blade. Gatou's form crumpled to the ground. The blonde Jinchuruuki looked up and looked around, his eyes narrowed.

"Alright who's there? Come out before I do to you what I did to him!" He shouted into the mists that were surrounding the area. A long, low chuckle greeted the boy's threat. A figure walked across the waves from out of the mist, jumping up onto the bridge beside the broken body, grinning from ear to ear.

"Now Naruto… is that any way for you to treat your big brother when you see him for the first time in weeks?" The bloody kunai dropped to the floor as Naruto's hand went limp in shock. For a second the entire bridge was silent, then Naruto let out a loud scream that had Haku and Kakashi jumping in startlement. The blonde boy became a blur as he dashed at the figure that had appeared. The person braced himself, crouching down some and opening his arms wide just before Naruto crashed into him.  
The two teetered on the edge of the unfinished bridge for a second, before they fell off backwards.

_**And Cliffhanger(Pun intended.)**_

_**AN**_

_**Ok, first off, the Kazegane. I said earlier that Naruto had several unique Fuuton(Wind) techniques, the Kazegane is just one of them. Like described in the chappie above, the Kazegane is two steps: First, a wind tunnel that pierces through things. It can cut through some metals. Second: A solid mass of air. This is slower, and stronger. It doesn't cut, it crushes.**_

_**Now then, I'm going to start responding to reviewers here. But before that: Balatros, you get a cookie. CrimsonAxe, you get smacked with a rolled up newspaper for thinking Ron was anywhere near the overpowered snake.**_

_**Moving on:**_

_**SFBKludge:  
Yeah, Sakura's toast. I don't have anything against the girl, but in my story, she's too much of a fan girl. The scene last chapter of her snapping will have effects later on(For instance, I'm changing who Ino fights in the prelims).**_

_**Wyrtha:**_

_**See above for Sakura. And thanks for the compliment, I was just trying to keep Zabuza and Haku from seeing Naruto too early. And as for Kakashi acknowledging Naruto more, unfortunately nothing will come of it until at least after the time skip.**_

_**Kudos to anyone who figured out that the person who annoyed Zabuza was Ronnel. And from this chapter, obviously yes Ronnel and Naruto have encountered Zabuza and Haku before.**_

_**I'm sorry to anyone who doesn't like what happened to Zabuza. It was either this or make him a parapelegic.**_

_**Now then, I took the information about Samurai from Perfect Lionheart's Chuunin Exam Day.( If you haven't read it yet, click on the Search bar in fanfic, sear him as author, and read it. It's hellaciously better than my story, and a whole lot funnier.) This info makes a lot of sense, more than the 'Land of Iron' being full of samurai who get mown down when Sasugay appears. **_

_**Review please! It makes my heart glow when you click that little link!**_

_**Ja ne!**_

_**-G.T.-**_

_**PS: Still need a beta reader if anyone is interested**_


	10. Chapter 9

_**Chapter Nine – Repercussions and Resolutions**_

**Tazuna's House**

"Ok, let me get this straight. You personally took out the Demon Brothers, then helped Hatake fight off Zabby despite his Mist, all without revealing who you were? And then you managed to negotiate a ceasefire with Haku-chan and Zabby-kun, in exchange for finally getting them to join us?" Ronnel sat back, staring at his otouto in shock. Of all the things he had been expecting when he realized he was close to Naruto, finding out that the blonde had managed to fulfill one of their secret goals was not one of them.

The Konoha nin, minus Sasuke and Sakura, were sitting around Tazuna's table. Haku sat beside Naruto, looking sad. It had been two days since the termination of Gatou, and everyone had been resting and recovering. Sasuke was currently outside practicing his chakra control, for Kakashi had told him that when he was ready, he would teach the Avenger how to walk on water. Zabuza was upstairs, asleep from being dosed with several potent herbal remedies. Tazuna and his workers were finishing the Bridge, under the protection of several Kage Bunshin from both Uzumaki-Rei(s) and Kakashi.

Ronnel sighed as he realized a snag in the master piece of a production his little brother had orchestrated. Zabuza had been caughth completely flat-footed by the fire attack from Sasuke, thinking at the time that there was a cease-fire in effect. There was, but much to the dismay of everyone, some how the Uchiha had been left out of the decision. A small flash from his otouto told Ronnel that they were on the same page.

"So… no help for it huh?" Ronnel's voice was heavy as he and Naruto looked at Haku. The girl shook her head. She had been tending to Zabuza since the 'battle' on the bridge, but the man had been unable to use his arm fully after the fireball. Luckily he could hold and use the Kubikiri Houcho with only one hand, but there was no way he would be made into a shinobi with a crippling disability like having a useless limb.

The teen girl buried her face in her hands as her shoulders shook with sobs. Just when peace had finally seemed within their grasp, just when she thought she'd be able to live with both of her most precious people, some little brat had crippled her adoptive father with a lucky cheap shot!

"What about Tsunade-obaa-chan? Isn't she supposed to be like some kind of super medic?" Naruto spoke in a low voice to Ronnel. The duo had met the Slug Sannin in a small town just as they were leaving. She had bragged about her healing prowress to the others, introducing Naruto to the fact that drunk people boast. However, the sensible woman with her had confirmed that the busty blonde really could heal.

Ronnel shook his head. "We'll talk to he rabout it if we see her, but you know how hard it is to find her. And I'd rather not get her hopes up if we can't deliver on a promise." He looked at the teenage girl and shook his head sadly. By the time he and his otouto had parted with the Kiri duo, Ronnel had been able to tell that Haku was attracted to the blonde Jinchuruuki, and had hoped that if she did come to live with them that she would be able to break his brother's shell in that regard. But with Zabuza injured, that would never happen.

A loud clatter from the stairs informed the group that someone was awake. One hand rested on kunai, one on a staff, one on senbon, and one on a sword hilt as four sets of eyes shot to the stairs. When the Kubikiri Houcho appeared, with Zabuza carrying it in front of him carefully, everyone relaxed visibly. The eyebrowless nuke-nin walked over to the table, leaning his blade against the back of an open seat as he sank down into another seat.

The nuke-nin looked around the group for a moment, then shrugged. "Might as well say it straight away. Haku, if their offer is still open, you are going back to Konoha." Every person in the room looked at him in shock as he calmly rested his chin on his hands. "The offer is still open isn't it?" He looked at Ronnel as he spoke. The chuunin nodded. He leaned back in his seat, his mind racing to figure out what his old rival was up to. The Demon of the Bloody Mist chuckled.  
"Relax. I was talking with the old drunk. I can't become a shinobi of a true village now, not with this fucked-up arm. But I can train other people. So, I'm going to stay here and train the village militia. And be the heavy guns if anything they can't handle shows up." Haku immediately protested her departure. "Enough! You are going with them. Haku… yes, we wanted to settle down. But you are still young, and I can't bring myself to tie you down here with a cripple of a father and only these fishing village louts as potential boyfriends." Haku began blushing and pleaded with her eyes for her father not to reveal her feelings. He shrugged.

"Stop fretting. I didn't say I was casting you out of my life. I still expect you and the brat there… and Naruto too, to come visit me." Ronnel blinked when Zabuza insulted him. The chuunin just shrugged and listened as the other continued. "Now then. Naruto, you don't use swords too much, do you?" The blonde genin shook his head. "And Haku, I'm sorry, but your body is just wrong to use the Kubikiro Houcho. Great. That leaves the sword to the one man who could match it…" Zabuza heaved a sigh. He held up the Head Decapitating Cleaver and spun it around so the hilt faced Ronnel.  
The chuunin stared at the blade for a moment, then shook his head and pushed it away. "I'm sorry Zabby-kun, but that sword still yearns for you as its master. I'll stick with my swords, I'm more comfortable with them anyway. Besides, my sword has a surprise ready for someone who's targeting my otouto, and I don't know how long it would take to set up a similar surprise in the Kubikiri." The talk about the Kubikiri Houcho was interrupted when Haku flung herself from her seat, tackling Zabuza and sending him flying out of the seat. Ronnel caught the Kubikiri before it hit the ground, respectfully leaning it against the wall as he turned to look at Zabuza.

Naruto had both hands over his mouth, trying valiantly to stifle laughter. Haku had Zabuza on his back, a bewildered expression visible over the bandages as the girl clung to his shirt, crying while repeating "Thank You" over and over. The Demon of the Bloody Mist was pinned against the wall by his adopted daughter, his face a study in confusion and shock as he looked to the three Konoha nin for what to do.

Kakashi buried his face into his Icha Icha: Icha Icha Paradise, giving the nuke-nin no aid. Ronnel had somehow managed to get his longsword out and was stropping it, making sure that the edge was deadly sharp. Naruto though, mimed patting the girl on the back and saying "It's ok".

Hesitantly, Zabuza did just that. He instantly swore to kill Naruto…as soon as he could breathe. When he had patted her back, Haku shifted her arms and now had a stranglehold on Zabuza's throat. The nuke-nin began turning various shades of red, which just served to further amuse the other shinobi. It was when his face took on a hue of blue that would make Kisame jealous that Naruto took pity on the swordsman and tapped her shoulder. The girl ignored it at first, then finally pulled her face from Zabuza's shirt.

She looked at Zabuza and quickly muttered an apology as she leapt off of him with a blush on her face. The Kiri rogue stood up and shook the dust off his clothes before sighing. Everyone watched in shock as the man wrapped Haku in a one-armed hug.

"You're not just a tool Haku. Those two broke me of that. You're my daughter, and I want you happy. Now then, Brat, Boy." Ronnel and Naruto leveled glares at the man, who just chuckled. "You two get the task of looking after my daughter while she's in Konoha with you. Don't screw it up, or I will hunt you down." Kakashi looked like he was about to say something, but the gleam in Zabuza's eyes told him that it would not be a good idea. With a nervous little chuckle, he went back to reading his book.

After half an hour, things had calmed down a bit. Tazuna and the Naruto clones had finished the Bridge and the Builder was sitting down as Tsunami laid food on the table. Everyone bowed their heads and said 'Itadakimasu!' before diving in. The tempura and rice meal barely lasted long with the group of male shinobi.

Halfway through the meal, Ronnel noticed something was different. _Is it just me, or is it….quieter?_ He looked around the table, this time instead of just doing a head count, matching names to faces. _Ok, short brat by Naruto is the bridge builder's grandson, Inari. Next to him is his mother, Tsunami. On Naruto's other side is the Emo King, Sasuke. Between me and the Foul-Eyed one is Cyclops. On my other side is Tazuna…_ For a few minutes, he sat there, trying to figure out what was different. Then his eyes widened and he looked at Naruto. His next words quieted all of the shinobi who knew what had happened.

"Otouto…where is Haruno?" The blonde genin, who had been shoveling food into his mouth, froze. He swallowed his current mouthful and sat back for a moment. He shook his head at Kakashi and Sasuke.

"I'll show him." The boy stood up and gestured for his brother to follow him. Confused, Ronnel pushed back from the table and walked up the stairs behind Naruto. His confusion grew as Naruto opened a door that he had thought led to the room where Haku was staying. The teen jerked his head into the room, then stepped in. Ronnel followed him, pausing to let his eyes adjust to the darkness of the chamber.

He looked around, and saw her. His eyes narrowed as he walked over to her and laid one hand on her forehead. The chuunin turned to look at his otouto, an obvious question on his face. The younger boy sighed and sat down in the chair. While he may not want to say what had happened, he knew that his adopted older brother wouldn't leave him alone until he did.

"It happened after the first fight against Zabuza. When the mist cleared, I found Tazuna and Haruno passed out, with the Uchiha standing in his own piss. I created clones to carry the unconscious trio, and had Uchiha follow after waking Tazuna up long enough to get a general direction to his house. After some time, we arrived. Tsunami-san was scared by our sudden arrival, and rushed inside locking the door behind her. It was at about that time that Haruno woke up. She reacted violently to being carried by me, or rather a clone. She kicked and waved her arms in the air, and then plunged a kunai into its kidney. Uchiha and I grew quite angry with her at that. Her idol swore off acknowledging her existence, and I… yeah. Hatake accepts that she is finished as a kunoichi." Ronnel rubbed his eyes tiredly.

"Naruto." At hearing his name in that tone, the boy's head snapped up. "Could she see you? From where she was, could Haruno see _you_, not a clone?" The boy thought back, nodding slowly when he remembered seeing Sakura look at him. "Did she see you before, or after she began struggling?"

"Before…" The blonde Jinchuruuki was confused at this line of questioning.

"Now then. Think about it from her perspective. She wakes up, sees her two teammates together, and her teacher and the client lying against trees. She is being carried around like a sack of potatoes. How would you react?" The boy blinked twice, then blanched. "Now, I'm not saying she's completely free of blame. But….. while being finished is a bit extreme… maybe a remedial year as an Academy student, with D-ranked missions with reduced pay.. that wouldn't be." Naruto sighed when his brother finished talking.

"Aniki…why do you have to be so damn kind? I thought I was the forgiver, not you." He blinked at the feral grin that crossed Ronnel's face.

"Naru-kun…. We can put up some D-ranked missions ourselves. It might just be harsher than ending her kunoichi career, but she will still have that." The boy shook his head and sighed. "Now, you explain to the Uchiha about why he is going to go back to how he treated Haruno before, while I go talk with Hatake." Naruto mimed a swipe at his brother, who just grinned and shooed him out of the room.

Once the demon container was out of the room, his older brother turned to look at the girl lying in a tight ball on the bed. He sat down on a nearby chair and propped his chin on his hand, studying her intently. _Now how do we bring you out of this? You're beginning to look emaciated, and that means you've been in this coma since you arrived… Oh how I wish I was a Yamanaka. They have that handy little affinity for mind jutsu._ The young man sighed and shook his head. While he wouldn't be as subtle as a Yamanaka, he could get her out of there. _I'll have to pay Inoichi to go in and fix the damage from this…_

Ronnel stood up and walked over to where she was laying and ran his hands through an intricate chain of hand-seals. When he finished, he laid one hand on Sakura's forehead.

"Mental Hijutsu: Awaken the Cat." The crude jutsu ripped into Sakura's brain, shocking her out of her catatonic state. Her eyes flew open to stare at her knees, which she slowly uncurled from her chest with a whimper as she forced the muscles out from their locked position. His technique had a second effect, one that even he wouldn't notice until later.

Sakura sat up, barely registering that there was someone else in the room with her. Ronnel sent a discreet flare of chakra out, alerting the four downstairs who could detect it. Since Kakashi had seen Naruto pulling Sasuke aside to talk to him, and the Uchiha had appeared unhappy with what was being said, Kakashi figured it had something to do with Sakura. He slipped his book back into his pouch and headed up the stairs, concerned for his final student.

The jounin pushed into the room and blinked when he saw Sakura sitting up, her arms wrapped around her legs as she cried. He let out a small squeak when Ronnel grabbed him and pulled him aside.

"I talked with Naruto about what happened. He and I are going to request a punishment for her. He is going to request that she keep her career, in exchange for another year of the Academy along with D-ranked missions with reduced pay." He kept the part about putting up several disgusting D-ranked missions himself. The jounin across from him looked incredibly relieved. "And Naruto was talking with the Uchiha about treating like he was before."

"The Foul-Eyes heir agreed. In exchange…. He wants you to be his instructor alone when we finish the mission." The blonde had walked in at the end of Ronnel's explanation, and was now looking at Kakashi. The man nodded, having expected having to take over the Uchiha's master when this was finished with. With a slight bow to the Uzumaki-Reis he turned back to his third student.

"Sakura…Sakura…" He shook her lightly, finally getting her attention.

"Oh sensei… I'm done! I…I….." She threw herself against him, crying about it. He stroked her hair.

"Relax Sakura. Naruto isn't going to press for you to be removed as a kunoichi. You'll go through another year of the Academy and have to take D-ranks for a while….but then you'll be a full-fledged genin again." This last he said after a quick look to Naruto, who nodded. Then the blonde stepped forward.

"And I already talked to the Teme. He's going to treat you like before. The two of us also aren't going to make a big deal about what you did. But… don't expect either of us to fully trust you for a long while." The girl pulled away from Kakashi and turned to Naruto. She shocked the three of them by prostrating herself to Naruto.

"A…arig…arigato… Uzumaki-Rei Naruto." The three males looked at each other, stunned at the formality of it. Naruto blinked before growling and hauling her to her feet. She trembled in his hands, afraid.

"Stop that! I'm not a Daimyo! I'm not worthy of that respect!" Ronnel grinned as Naruto shook the girl before letting her go. _You might not be now Naruto-kun. But with that attitude… I don't have to worry about you getting too big a head. _The chuunin chuckled under his breath at the wide eyes of Sakura. He laid a hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"Now now Naruto-kun. You did save her life in a way. If you hadn't agreed, then she would have had to become a civilian." He cast a look at Sakura, quirking the corner of one lip. "Now, she'll have a chance to become a better kunoichi." He started to turn away, pulling Naruto. Thus no one saw the expression on Sakura's face at his next words. "That'll be sure to impress the Uchiha." The girl blinked then almost seemed to spit before catching herself.

Kakashi clapped her shoulder. "Come on Sakura-chan. You need to eat, it's been over a week since you moved." She blinked at that.

"Eto…sensei? Was I in a coma?" At his nod, her brow furrowed. "Then I shouldn't be awake… there aren't any mind healers in our team."

"All I know is that you were unconscious for a while, then Naruto and Ronnel came up and talked, then Naruto came down to talk to Sasuke. Ronnel alerted us you awake shortly after that." He shoved on her shoulder, herding her towards the door.

"Now come on, I'm sure Tsunami has some leftovers you can eat."

"….. Who's Tsunami?"

_**In Konoha**_

Anko was about going out of her mind. One of the clones of Naruto had run into her on accident, and fessed up that they had encountered the Demon Brothers. She had run straight up to the Hokage's tower and demanded to be sent as back up.

"Lord Hokage please! They aren't ready to fight whoever is backing up the Demon Brothers!" She quailed only slightly under the steady look from Sarutobi.

"Now Anko-chan, Kakashi-kun wouldn't take his team up against someone they weren't ready to face. Besides, don't you know by now that Naruto has a few tricks up his sleeve?" The elderly man gazed at her impassively from across his steepled fingers, hiding his own worry. In truth, he had been planning on sending Maito Gai and his team, but with Anko acting like this, there was no way he could send them without sending the volatile Snake summoner.

Said woman nearly whined at the Hokage at this point, stopped only by her intense hatred of whining. She settled for giving him an unhappy glare and stormed out of the office. As she exited the room, she caught the woman sitting at the desk giving her an evil look. She heard the barely concealed mutter about 'snake bitches who had gone soft' and her gaze hardened. _So people think I've gone soft because of Ron-kun? Hrmph. Never mind that it's true, can't have my reputation in danger._ From her sleeve slid out several dango sticks, which she stood there eating.

When she finished eating, she used the dango skewers as senbon, piercing a line right by the woman's ear. She slid over before the stunned chuunin guard could react. "Next time I hear someone implying I've gone soft, those will pierce your ear. Then I'll use the same stick to pierce that person's tongue." She licked the blood that had formed from the small cut on the secretary's away, then vanished in a swirl of leaves.

_**In Wave**_

Ronnel was confused. Since he had woken the girl up, she had been even more outspoken than before the incident, which was quite a lot. But somehow she managed, to the disgruntlement of everyone who had hearing. But that wasn't what had confused the man. No, it had been the shy, sidelong glances that he had seen the pinkette shooting his adopted younger brother. He reached up and rubbed his forehead. _Need to warn otouto. He'd hate to get caught in the ancient marriage laws, and that girl looks like she would know them. Just bet the Uchiha learned those to avoid her._

The chuunin shook his head before grunting. He'd worry about that tomorrow. For now though, he had to deal with his little brother who had finally recognized the giant scythe that he had buried in the stone on the bridge to catch them after their fall. The blonde boy was bouncing around like, in Ronnel's opinion, Tora after the cat had gotten into catnip. And while that had been hilarious to watch happen in a cat,, on a thirteen year old boy it was not so amusing. Finally, his eye twitched as he hand lashed out and planted itself on Naruto's head, holding him in place.

"Alright, alright. I'll tell you, if only to shut you up." The final part of that had been said under his breath, but the blonde caught it. He growled and swung at his brother, who caught it knowing his otouto would hear him. Ronnel grinned then set the boy down, looking over at the other shinobi.

"You all might as well gather around too. This has some tactical info you might need later in life if you ever go up against a worshipper of the dark god Jashin." That name had Kakashi, Zabuza, and Haku standing by the duo before Naruto registered that his aniki had finished speaking. Looking at their intent expressions, he realized that the others were taking this seriously. He calmed down at that, turning his own eyes back to Ronnel.

"Alright, I have your attention. Naruto, you know that I was sent out a few weeks ago on a mission." The boy nodded. "What you don't know is what that mission was, or why I, a chuunin, was chosen to participate in it." Naruto nodded again, slowly this time.

"Ok, time to fix that. I was called because the Hokage had standing orders for me to be notified whenever we heard anything concerning a rogue shinobi of the Village Hidden in the Hotsprings, Hidan." Zabuza tensed at that name, recognizing it from his one encounter with Kisame after he had been recruited by that organization. "I see you recognize it Zabby. Yes, he's as bad as the rumors say, if not worse. A vile, sewer mouthed shinobi who routinely slaughters everyone he can to his 'God', Jashin." Ronnel paused, noting that he had gained the attention of Sasuke and Sakura.

"Jashin is a semi-deity who requires blood sacrifice from his followers. The more blood, the better. And unfortunately for the rest of the world, Jashin can bestow strange abilities on his followers if the give him enough blood." Sakura and Sasuke looked sick at that. "But the worst of these abilities as far as the world of shinobi at large, is that his prized followers gain immortality. As in, they cannot be killed, not even by having their head chopped off or their heart torn out. Now, an easy way to identify a Jashinist is to identify their weapon. Most of them, in fact about 95% of them, wield a scythe of some kind, like the double blade and reversed central blade like the one on the bridge." Ronnel paused and sighed, letting what he had said so far sink in.

The ninja of the group shuddered, knowing full well what it meant when he said they wouldn't die from losing their head or heart. Then Kakashi blinked and asked the question on everyone's mind.

"How did you kill that one then? And I assume he was a Jashinist?" Ronnel nodded, but it was his little brother who spoke next.

"Aniki figured out a way to kill them! We've used it before, and it works really really well! I should have known it was him from the body in fact…" Naruto grumbled to himself when that realization struck. Haku, Zabuza, and Kakashi turned to look at the blonde boy in shock, looking back and forth between him and Ronnel, who merely nodded.

"Yeah, I figured out a way to kill them. Ya see, their immortality is granted from a small vial that they _have_ to have hidden on their bodies. This vial has the blood of one hundred victims, collected within an hour or two. As long as a Jashinist regularly sacrifices victims to Jashin, the blood god recharges the immortality. Take the vial away, they have to re-perform the ceremony within a week or die. Take the vial away and destroy it…" He grinned ferally. "… then you're fighting a normal human, one who has most likely let his true skill fade after being immortal and thus unbeatable. Now, the reason it's hard to beat a Jashinist is also simple, even if it is in two parts. No Jashinist worth his Dark Rites will keep his vial in an easy to find spot. For most, you have to chop apart the Jashinist to even have a chance to find it. A medic would be ideal, because their Diagnose ability would be able to pinpoint the spot.

The second half of what makes Jashinists hard to beat is a trick they developed with the fact that they can't die in mind. They ingest some of their victim, or opponent's, blood, and then use it to perform a quick and dirty blood rite. It was designed to link marriage partners together, but the perversion created by the Jashinists makes it a killing tool. Whatever is done to the body of the Jashinist is also done to the body of the person whose blood they have ingested. And since they can take however much of a beating they want, they can perform killing moves like stabbing their own hearts, and kill their target in that way. However, they do have one disadvantage over the original marriage rite. They have to remain in a small circle, and if they leave it they must restart the technique."

Everyone stared at him in shock. Someone as hard to kill as that, who had an ability that killed that easily, and he had beaten one of them? The only person unsurprised was Naruto, who had seen him do it before. The boy sent a prompting look to his older brother. The man nodded and continued.

"Now then… I fought one obviously, as those scythes are created through a dark ritual unique to Jashinists. I assume you all want to know what happened?" Ronnel looked around. Even Inari seemed hooked on his words. The chuunin shrugged and continued. "Well, I finally tracked the jackass who had gotten himself found down. He had holed up in the base of some little pig business man… same guy you killed by the way Naruto. He had an apprentice, and wanted to use Wave as her Dark Rite point. I killed the apprentice by surprise, using the Kazekiri you came up with otouto. That of course alerted the big man himself.

Let's Just say, it's a good thing I practiced so much on dodging with all of your clones. That guy had some interesting attacks with his scythe. The fact that one blade was actually reversed made it a lot more dangerous than a normal scythe as he could potentially catch me with a back swing. I wore him out for a while, ducking and dodging, with the occasional Kawarimi to save my skin. I eventually got enough of a breather after he accidently buried his scythe in a wall to use that jutsu. The Kazekiri diced him apart, and I saw where the vial was as he pulled himself back together." The man took a drink of the water he had next to him, then finished the report.

"I punched him away from his scythe, then grabbed it myself. And let me tell you, I suggest you don't let any one near that thing from now on Tazuna-san. I found out when I picked it up that Jashin imbues those damn things with a portion of his being, which lets him constantly whisper to the wielder of the weapon. It would take a lot of will-power to resist the dark temptation. That aside though, I used the scythe to slam into the Jashinist's torso, right at the point of his collar-bone." Ronnel tapped his chest right under his throat to demonstrate. "That's where the vial was. With that shattered, and a scythe blade cutting apart his throat, the teme died. I flayed him and cut off his head to make sure he hadn't survived, then departed to where I felt Naruto's Kazegane go off. The rest you know." He shrugged as he looked at the group, who were all staring at him.

Unfortunately for everyone who would know him later, a certain young man decided that the warnings of Ronnel about the scythe were pointless. He took it upon himself later that night, when it was his watch, to liberate the scythe from the stonework of the bridge. He sealed it away, having learned from a blonde haired boy how useful those could be. As he settled in to perform the rest of his watch quietly, his eyes flashed a purplish red.

The next morning, Tazuna announced that the bridge had been finished. Everyone rejoiced, from the villagers for whom it meant increased trade and a prospering economy, to the weary members of Team Seven and Ronnel, for whom it meant freedom to return home. They waved goodbye on the bridge, with tears in Tsunami's eyes.

"Father, what are we going to call the bridge?" There were shouts of suggestions from all sides, but it was Zabuza, who was staring after the group that had his daughter in everything but blood following them that suggested the name for it.

"Call it the Kaze Kitsune Bridge. That's what he's called, and it was him who killed Gatou."  
"Wind Fox? I like it! All right, this is now the Kaze Kitsune Bridge!" A group of artisans set to work, now having a name.

_**AN**_

_**Review Response**_

_**Wyrtha:**_

_**Maa maa, getting ahead of the story a bit ^^. Yes, this is a NaruTema, and as for having Haku in the mix… well, that's what the poll is for! And yes, as of right now, she does have 'certain affections' for Naruto, and if the poll doesn't let her in, well then she'll end up being a rival with Tem for Naruto.**_

_**  
Tioman:**_

_**Eh, Kakashi was a student of the Yondiame, and an ANBU captain. No way he could possibly be as dense as he is once he actually meets Naruto. Remember, this is the guy who got a psychotic demon container (Gaara…) to become his best friend. One ANBU captain is no match for Naruto's friendliness.**_

_**Gosu:  
I'm sorry you feel that way. And I'm sorry you failed to read that I actually like Sakura. Yes I know that in the series sheisn't as much of a fan-girl, but I made her that way ON PURPOSE, not out of laziness or selfishness. And as for using a canon Naruto… impossible. He was taken away from Konoha at a young age, so has had several years of growing up without the negative influences of Konoha's citizenry. So while yes, he was injured and mentally abused, he has had more than half of his life with someone who treats him well. Canon Naruto is… only something I might use in flashbacks, which I try to avoid. And as for plotholes: I've only just now gotten someone willing to be a beta reader, and one set of eyes, no matter how good, can't catch everything. So hopefully the plotholes will either resolve themselves (I put in at least one on purpose), or be resolved through editing. And as you see in this episode, I am going to rebuild her, but she won't really become anything until after the three-year skip.**_

_**I Love Shy Girls:  
Thanks! Naruto is going to be rather strong, but only for one reason. In the words of another fanfic author (I'm sorry, I can't remember who for the life of me!):  
Naruto learned a jounin technique in a matter of hours when he thought he had someone supporting him. **_

_**Nayami-chan:**_

_**Congrats! You and Wyrtha now have the most reviews submitted to this story! I did hit a snag at one scene, but you guys obviously liking the story meant I couldn't just end it. I refuse to disappoint my readers ^.^**_

_**Hooplah:**_

_**All right everyone, a round of thanks to Hooplah! With this chapter, he steps in as beta reader, so he will hopefully catch things I miss out on. **_

_**With that out of the way good sir, yes, this is a Naru-Tema pairing, and despite possibilities such as Haku (who is now the second dgirl who will be with Naruto) living with them, and Sakura shifting her fanaticism, it is Sabaku no Temari who will be the main focus of Naruto's loving attention.**_

_**And Chuunin Exam Day is rather detailed isn't it? Hehe, though some times that detail is good. I toyed with the idea of trying out my own version of the forest fight between Gaara and Sasuke… then decided that Sasuke would get crushed completely. So gave that up.**_

_**All right, I doubt any of them will ever read this far, but all you geniuses who think Ronnel is a self insertion:**_

_**[rant]  
He isn't. He is based on a character I use for RPs, but changed. For instance, he isn't a part angel, nor is he a medic. If Ronnel was a self insert, I would have used at least one of those. But as I said, I doubt you will ever read past the first chapter, as you narrow minded bigotry prevents you from enjoying what I hope is a good story. You don't want ot read about it? Well then, up in your address bar, type somewhere other than fanfiction, because people all over the place are going a lot further with Ocs than I am, though I do plan on involving Ronnel a bit more now.**_

_**[endrant]**_

_**Please review my friends, as you saw with Nayami's post, a good review can break a writer's block. And this doesn't just go for me, it goes for all authors. If you see they haven't posted in a while, try leaving a good review on their story. A few kind words can go a long way.**_

_**Ja ne!**_

_**-G.T.-**_


	11. Chapter 10

_**Chapter Ten – Home Again, Love Revealed?**_

_**Konoha Main Gates**_

It was a bone weary group who stood before Izumo and Kotetsu, the nicknamed "Eternal Chuunin." They had been held up for several minutes now, due to the fact that Haku wasn't a Konoha nin, but she obviously carried herself like a trained kunoichi. The two guards suspected she had some kind of hold over the group, probably through the younger children.

Ronnel's temper was stretching thin. He hadn't been home for several weeks and he wanted his dango, but these two were keeping him out! Naruto noted a dangerous glint in his older brother's eye and gulped. He motioned the rest of the group back. He may not like them, but he doesn't want them hurt because they got in the way.

There was a slight ring of metal on metal, and Kotetsu found that he was chewing on air. The tip of a massive sword, with small ringlike impressions on the metal, was resting under his throat. One thought crossed the senbon chewer's mind.

_When did he draw that thing???_ He gulped, the action forcing his Adam's Apple to press against the blade for a second. His eyes snapped up into Ronnel's as the newer Chuunin glared at him over the blade.

"Do you honestly think someone could hold, not only myself, but the legendary Sharingan no Kakashi, and force us to do what she wants? Stop thinking like morons, and use the brains that got you to Chuunin! I won't ask for the ones you got then." A slight grin crossed Ronnel's face, scaring the Chuunin who had his throat being intimidated by the sword.

Hastily, to avoid losing his partner and having to train a new one, Izumo cleared his throat and granted them access to the village, so long as they reported Haku to the Hokage immediately. Both Chuunin watched in shock as Ronnel's grin widened, soon matched by a grin on Naruto's face. The sword that was hovering near Kotetsu's throat slowly faded away, at the same time that the Chuunin gate guard found out that his senbon was still in his mouth. He reached up and felt it, pricking his finger with the deadly sharp tip to make sure it was still there. The guards looked at one another after the group had gone by, not noticing that Naruto had hung back.

"Was that…. Genjutsu?" Kotetsu asked, a trace of shock evident in his voice. At Izumo's slow nod, the man gulped. While they were Chuunin, that didn't mean they were slouchs either. Both of them had spent several hours training with Kurenai, working on genjutsu detection. That they had been held under a genjutsu, and one that apparently affected sight, sound, and touch, without their noticing worried them. They spun around when they heard a chuckle.

"That's aniki's punishment for keeping him away from dango, loss of security for a while. You two had better hope that Anko-neechan doesn't find out about it." Both Chuunin paled visibly at that. Their heads turned to each other, then back to Naruto as he spoke again. "By the way… this is for keeping me from ramen. Bakuhatsu." With a grin, the Genin exploded, throwing both the men who were standing by him against the gates. They stood up slowly, relieved that the blast hadn't been enough to knock them out. Then they looked down.

There were twin screams that could be heard throughout the village as the gate guards found out that they were covered in a rainbow of neon bright colors. "UZUMAKI-REI NARUTO!"

_**Base of the Hokage Tower**_

Kakashi, Ronnel, and Naruto paused, each one adopting differing expressions as they heard the duo at the gates scream Naruto's name. Kakashi looked slightly confused, Ronnel appeared curious, and Naruto had a mischievous grin on his face.

"One color? Two?" Naruto shook his head at his older brother's guesses.

"A rainbow of them." He cackled as he rubbed his hands together. He was back, now he could get caught up on all the pranking that he had missed while in Wave. He was stopped from his maniacal plotting when Ronnel and Kakashi placed an arm under each shoulder and hoisted him into the tower towards Sarutobi's office. A few minutes after they entered, a figure zipped in after them, hurrying up the stairs as well.

_**Office of the Sandaime Hokage**_

Ronnel was leaning against the wall as Naruto and Kakashi reported on the mission. He noted with some amusement that Sakura and Haku had similar expressions on their faces as they watched Naruto speak to Sarutobi.

Naruto had condensed his report to only a couple of minutes, but that was enough to have Sarutobi looking towards Sakura with a dark expression on his face. Before he could speak however, the door burst open, swinging into the shocked Ronnel. He pushed the door closed and rubbed his face, which now had a faint imprint of the door emblem that had been near his face on it. He looked towards the center of the room where Naruto was and grinned.

Anko was standing there, holding Naruto up by his neck in a headlock as she rubbed his head vigorously with her knuckles. The blonde haired boy was squirming dreadfully, trying to escape from the "Knuckles of Noogie" , his legs kicking in the air as he dangled above the ground. It took the Hokage clearing his throat to get Anko to look up and realize what she had interrupted. She gulped and dropped Naruto, who growled at her as he fixed his hair. A stare from the Hokage had Anko scuttling out, though no one realized that there was another person missing from the room after she had left.

"Now then. Haruno Sakura." The pinkette squeaked in fear. "Do you understand the full implications of what you did? If it had been anyone else, or if Naruto himself had been carrying you and not a clone, then you would have killed a fellow Leaf ninja. Such an action is punishable by death." The pinkette was rapidly paling as Sarutobi spoke. She began trembling like a small leaf in a fierce wind.

"However." Her head snapped up. "Naruto has asked that I show you lenience, and not have you killed, nor are you going to be removed from the ranks of Konoha's ninja forces. Instead, you will be placed in the current class of graduates, in the hopes that you will learn what you missed the first time around. You will be doing two years of D-rank missions with no pay, starting next week. When those are finished with, you will be taking restricted pay on higher rank missions until such time as you are deemed fit. Dismissed Miss Haruno, classes start in two days." The pink haired girl bowed low then hurried out of the room, trying to hide her tears of relief.

"Now then…Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke. I am sorry to say that this was upgraded to an A-rank mission, and that your teamwork proved to be… lacking. As of now, Team Seven under Hatake Kakashi is no more. Uchiha Sasuke, you are to be placed under Hatake Kakashi as his apprentice." The avenger grinned, keeping his face low with a bowed head to hide it. "Take him and go Kakashi-kun." The silver haired Jounin nodded. The Hokage began speaking once the other two had left.

"And as for you Naruto.. I'm sorry, but your new Master isn't ready yet. You will have to wait for Ronnel to return home." The blonde Jinchuruuki looked up, confused.

"Eto, Jiji, he was right behind us…" Naruto turned around, to see that the room was empty except for Haku. He palmed his face and turned back around shaking his head. "I'll go find Aniki and tell him to report to you Jiji." The boy walked to the door and paused. He sent a wide smile over his shoulder at the Hokage, who sighed mentally in relief that Naruto was friendly towards him once more. He rubbed his temples as the door closed behind the girl who had bowed to Sarutobi as she left behind Naruto.

_Great. Now I'll have to keep the Rei brothers from getting suicide missions from the council._ He sat back and glared at the greatest foe any Kage will ever face. _It'd almost be worth it to torch all of this…vile paperwork._ Sighing out loud, the old man pulled a mission request form and began scanning over it.

_**Kanzaki's Dango**_

Anko was slumped at the bar, a half-eaten dango stick hanging from her mouth. She had rushed here after her impromptu barging in at the Hokage's office, and immediately began stuffing her face, trying to get past the shame that had come from that. _How can I have paid so little attention to my surroundings that I interrupted the Hokage during a debriefing? I'm lucky he didn't reprimand me right there._ She swallowed and pulled out her wallet to pay the stand owner.

She tilted her head in confusion when the man shook his head. "You've been paid for lass, twice as much as you've eaten actually. Fella in the corner did it." The Snake Mistress turned around angrily, ready to tear the man who had presumed to by her food. She froze in her tracks when she saw the face smirking at her from the corner booth.

Ronnel's smirk widened into a full blown grin as Anko stood there, her mouth hanging open in shock. He rose up from the seat and stepped toward her, one finger reaching out to click her mouth shut. He took in the shock on her face for a moment, still grinning.

"That surprised to see me Anko-chan?" He tilted his head, his eyes closing as his smile widened even further. His eyes closing had the effect of him missing it when Anko shook her shock off and tensed up. His eyes opened in time to see a blur of purple rushing at him before he was pinned onto the table by the Jounin who was hanging onto him for dear life. He looked down at her in confusion before a spot of pain registered on his lower back.

The Chuunin struggled onto his feet, swaying as Anko hung off of him, for once noting the height difference between his size and hers. He wrapped one arm around her to help hold her up while his other reached around and rubbed the spot where the soy bottle had been digging into his back. _Huh. Guess she _did_ miss me._

This was the scene Naruto came in on, Ronnel rubbing his back while holding Anko against him as the Jounin nuzzled against his chest. He thought about leaving it alone, but then shrugged.  
"NOW are you going to tell him nee-chan?" The blonde boy's voice woke Anko from the daze she was in, only now realizing just what she was doing. She pushed away from Ronnel, dropping to the ground with a large blush on her face. The boy felt a death-glare coming at him and sent a cheeky grin to his adoptive brother.

"Aniki, Ojiji wants to see you in his office about your mission and uhm… I'll let him tell you." Ronnel sighed and nodded and began walking towards the office. Naruto squeaked when Anko picked him up by the hood of his cloak. He spun slowly in place as the purple haired Jounin turned him around, lifting him up so they were face to face. He trembled slightly at the maniacal grin the woman had on her face.

"You. Just. Took. My. Snuggle." Anko shook him with each word, emphasizing each one with a greater shake. In her mind and heart, she had finally accepted what she felt about Ronnel, but now, before she could tell him, Naruto had to go and tell him that the Hokage needed to talk to him.

"Anko-nee-chan! Air!" Naruto was turning blue as the hem of his cloak dug into his throat, cutting off his air supply. The woman waited until he was gasping, then lowered him down to his feet. Before he could get away, she grabbed the front of his coat. "Nee-chan! If you go to the office you can hear what happened on his mission!" Anko's eyes widened for a brief second before she dropped Naruto and shunshin'd to the office.

The boy shook his head and grumbled under his breath as he stood up again and brushed off his shirt. Then he blinked in shock as he realized something.

"Where's Haku?" His eyes wide in dread, the boy took off in search of his newest roommate.

_**Office of the Sandaime Hokage**_

Ronnel had just finished his speech when there was a swirl of wind behind him. He reacted on instinct, spinning around and leaping at the person who had just shunshin'd in to the Kage's office. Before the person could react, he had her pinned against a wall, a kunai in his hand pressing against her throat.

"Ronnel-kun, please step back and calm down. And Anko-chan, does this show you why it isn't wise to just barge in here whenever you want?" His tone, though calm, had definite tones of reprimand when he spoke to Anko. The woman blushed heavily and bowed her head in apology. Ronnel clapped her shoulder to cheer her up, his attention returning to Sarutobi. He missed seeing Anko lean into his touch for a moment before stepping back and leaning against the wall to watch him and the Hokage speak.

"So, Hokage-sama, what's the verdict on Naruto's team?" Ronnel asked finally, deciding that he was done waiting around for Sarutobi to say something. The Hokage picked up his pipe and tapped out the old soot, before refilling it from his tobacco pouch 's eye began twitching as the older man lit his pipe with a small breath of flame and began puffing on it.

"Well…. Since I can't have a Chuunin Apprentice Master, I had to wait for someone to complete their mission…" The Hokage spoke slowly, puffing on his tobacco pipe every few words, pausing to blow out a ring of smoke that washed over Ronnel's face. The Chuunin coughed as he inhaled a bit of smoke, before growling and channeling wind to push the smoke away.

"But now, that Chuunin has returned and reported that while his mission was unsuccessful, he was able to eliminate two major threats to the security of Konoha. So then, Ronnel-kun." Anko's eyes shot wide as she realized where this was leading. She rubbed her hands together greedily, thinking about what was about to happen. Ronnel turned one eye back to her, curious as to why she was giggling like a mad-woman. His attention snapped back to Sarutobi when the older shinobi pulled out a large vest, one that was much more intricate than the current Chuunin vest Ronnel was wearing.

Ronnel caught the vest, his eyes wide, noting small details like a reinforcing seal etched into the neck of the vest, and several storage seals on the pockets on the vest. Then his eyes shot up to Hiruzen when the older man began speaking again.

"Rei-Uzumaki Ronnel, Chuunin of Konohagakure. For successfully eliminating an S-rank threat and a B-rank threat, in addition to a year of exemplary Chuunin service, I, Sarutobi Hiruzen, Sandaime Hokage and Acting Hokage, hereby promote you to Jounin. Serve your village well sir, and may you wear your vest in good health. Your first assignment is to become the Jounin Apprentice Master of one Genin of Konohagakure, Uzumaki-Rei Naruto. Your assignment begins tomorrow, do try to have the boy trained up for the Chuunin Exams in one month's time." Ronnel blinked in shock at the formal mode of speaking that Sarutobi had taken, then bowed low.

"I will not fail you Lord Hokage." He slipped the Chuunin vest off and pulled the Jounin vest on, transferring the contents of the older vest to the newer one. He looked over at Anko, who was staring at him with an odd glint in her eyes. The newly appointed Jounin gulped and made a mad dash for the door, only to have Anko latch onto his back. Sarutobi just chuckled as he watched the duo exit.

_**Konoha Ninja Hospital**_

"Look, all I'm saying is don't go disappearing on me like that Haku-chan!" Naruto had finally found the Hyoton girl, who had somehow made her way to the ninja hospital. Haku had managed to insinuate herself into one of the medical teams, her healing skills allowing her easy access to helping people. In response to Naruto's frantic ranting, she simply smiled at him and set to work on the next patient.

That smile had stunned the blonde boy for a moment, but he eventually shook it off and followed after her as she moved on. "Come on Haku-chan! I wanna show you where you're going to be living now!" That, unlike the rest of Naruto's attempts, got Haku to stop what she was doing. She turned around in place to look at Naruto with wide eyes. _Did she forget that she was living with us?_

Naruto's thought was apparently correct, as Haku began chasing _him_, causing the Jinchuruuki to take off like he was Jiraiya with a horde of angry women on his tail. Everyone in the hospital turned as two blurs shot past them, one with blonde hair, the other with brown.

_**Apartment Complex**_

Anko screamed giddily as Ronnel slid to a halt in front of the Apartments. As soon as they had exited the Hokage's Tower, the new Jounin had activated his _Shunpo_ move, taking off down the streets.

"Now I know why the Gaki is always demanding you do that while he rides your shoulders!" She clapped her hands as she began spinning in place, unused to the speed technique. She blinked in surprise as she toppled over, only to be caught by Ronnel. She looked up into his brown eyes as he shook his head amusedly.

"Yeah, Naruto fell the first few times himself when I did that. The _Shunpo_ throws off your balance like none other." He grinned at her. Both their heads whipped around when there was a crash from the side of the building. The two Jounin looked at each other worriedly as they straightened up and moved around, Anko pulling out several kunai and Ronnel drawing the longsword from his hip.

Ronnel relaxed when he saw that it was just Haku and Naruto wrestling back and forth. Well rather, Haku was sitting on Naruto's back and pulling senbon out of Naruto's back. Anko however, threw the kunai in her hand when she saw an unknown person holding sharp senbon right above Naruto's neck.

Anko's eyes widened in shock when Ronnel shot forward, blocking the kunai with his sword. "Relax Anko-chan. She's a friend of ours, came back with us." The purple haired Jounin blinked then walked over, listening to the argument between Haku and Naruto as she did so.

"You started running! I just wanted to know where I'm living!" Haku tugged a senbon viciously from Naruto's back.

"Of course I started running! Aniki's drilled it into my head that whenever a woman charges at you, you head for the hills!" Anko looked over at Ronnel speculatively. The dual-sword wielding Jounin gulped nervously, then moved over and hoisted Haku up off of Naruto, and pulled the blonde Genin to his feet.

"Moving right along..." He spoke quickly, forestalling the two younger teenagers from yelling at each other. "Haku, this is Mitarashi Anko, Special Jounin and our other roommate. Anko-chan, this is Momochi Haku, adopted daughter to Momochi Zabuza and our newest roommate." The loyal Snake Summoner walked forward, examining Haku, who shifted nervously under the scrutiny. Anko whipped out a kunai and sent it hurtling towards Haku's cheek, only to see the younger girl shift out of the way, just enough to avoid being grazed.

"Adopted daughter and apprentice I should have said." Anko turned to look at the man she had fallen for, nodding slowly in response to his words. "Well then, shall we go inside and get you situated?" At Haku's nod, Naruto immediately dragged the girl inside, giving his older brother a look. The young man grinned at his adopted little brother, but nodded slightly. He held Anko's arm for a few minutes, then nodded to her and walked in. The Tokubetsu Jounin shrugged and followed after him, watching as he slid the blade back into the sheathe on his hip.

Inside, Naruto had dragged Haku upstairs and was showing her the rooms on the single unclaimed floor. When she had shaken her head at all of these, he frowned then shrugged and took her up one floor, showing her the empty rooms on his floor. The ice wielding girl picked a room on the other end of the hall from Naruto and began unpacking the sealing scrolls holding her furniture and such.

"Haku-chan, I'm going to go downstairs and see if Aniki is making dinner yet ok?" The girl nodded and waved a hand absently in his direction. Naruto grinned and shook his head, wondering once again how clothes could distract a kunoichi so well. As he trudged downstairs, the young teenager pondered that to himself, comparing examples of his past, from Anko who could get giddy over a gift of a new type of mesh, to Haku who apparently made googly-eyes at formal kimonos.

On the bottom floor, Naruto paused as a scent hit his nostrils. His mouth watered slightly at the aroma of ground beef, tomato paste, and biscuits. He grinned widely, realizing that Ronnel was indeed cooking, and from the smell of it, he was almost done. The blonde container stepped into the kitchen quietly, and was treated to the sight of Anko leaning against Ronnel's side, speaking softly about something. Konoha's Jinchuruuki hung back, not wanting to interrupt what was apparently a very personal conversation between his two older housemates.

Whatever was said had Anko flinging her arms around Ronnel's neck, causing the young man to stagger and let out a yelp when his hand touched the hot frying pan on the stove. He began waving it frantically as Anko uttered an apology before rushing into the nearest bathroom, coming back with a small tube of gel and a roll of bandages. Naruto watched with a tinge of awe as the purple haired woman tenderly ministered to the burnt hand, wrapping it up after smearing burn ointment on. When she placed a kiss on the bandages after finishing, Naruto stepped back against the wall and blushed.

_ Nee-chan has admitted it to him! Finally finally finally! _ He peeked around the corner, watching the two interact as Ronnel shifted to his other hand, holding the spatula more awkwardly in his off hand. _I want…someone like that for me…_ The young boy thought morosely as he decided to make his entrance. He took in a deep breath then stepped into the room, shouting a greeting to the duo.

"Ossu! How soon until dinner is ready aniki?" Anko meeped and blushed, but was unable to escape from Ronnel's side when the newly appointed Jounin wrapped the bandaged hand around her waist and grinned at his adopted brother. For appearances, so they wouldn't know that he had been watching them, Naruto dropped his mouth open in 'shock', and began pointing back and forth between the two, stuttering something.

"Y-y-y-y-yyou t-t-two are-" Ronnel grinned at his little brother's antics, enjoying the look of amazement on his face.

"Yeah, Anko finally told me the reason that she kept jumping away every time we touched and well, it was similar to why I kept freezing up so, we're finally together. Looks like you were right otouto. And as for dinner, well it'll be ready in about fifteen minutes, the biscuits are all we're waiting on now." Beside him, the counter on the stove ticked onto fourteen and a half minutes remaining. Anko finally pulled free and glared at Naruto.

"Gaki, this does not mean that you are always right. You were right about one thing, and I swear, if you let this go to your head…" The Tokubetsu Jounin pulled out a kunai and trailed her tongue along it menacingly. Naruto gulped while Ronnel got a strange expression on her face. Naruto shuddered when he saw that, and ran out of the room up the stairs, saying that he was going to go tell Haku that dinner was almost ready.

Anko glared after him for a while then turned back to Ronnel. She tugged on her lip staring at him nervously. "Ron-kun... I need to tell you something…" Ronnel turned around, staring at her curiously, tossing a glance at the oven to make sure the biscuits were cooking.

"What's up Ko-chan?" He leaned back against the oven door, looking at her steadily.

"The reason I have never dated is… Orichimaru kills anyone who tries. I don't know how he knows, but the few times in the past that I tried getting close to anyone but Kurenai, Roachy-teme would show up and kill them within a few days." Ronnel blinked and leaned back, tapping his chin in thought.

"Well then –" those words made Anko's heart freeze in her chest. _No no no no no! He's going to leave _ - " – I'll just have to be ready to deal with the Snake Sannin then won't I? He's only an S-rank, can't be that much stronger than me." The new Jounin stepped forward and pulled her into a tight hug, whispering his next words into her hair.

"Do you really think the thought that some homopedophile wants me dead is going to keep me from you Anko-hime? I've had S-ranks who want my head before, Orichimaru won't be the last. I'm like Naru-kun, I piss the wrong people off." He pulled her back a bit, so she could see his face. "Honestly though, jokes aside; I am _not_ going to leave the girl who has been in my thoughts since I left Konoha just because she has a vindictive asshole watching to keep her from happiness." Anko nearly burst into tears as she flung herself into his chest, her body shaking. When Naruto and Haku came down and asked what was wrong, the floodgates burst and the purple haired woman began shuddering as she cried onto Ronnel's shirt.

"Just a personal thing Naruto. Why don't you get the biscuits out and begin filling them? You know how to do that well enough." The boy nodded slowly, skirting around the crying Anko as he moved to do as Ronnel had asked. Haku meanwhile stared at them curiously, unused to human interaction like this. She sat down at the table and cast surreptitious glances over at them, aching for someone to hold her like Ronnel was holding Anko. Her thoughts then mirrored Naruto's earlier as she turned back to look at the blonde Jinchuruuki who was scooping ground meat in tomato sauce into divots made in the biscuits.

_ I want someone like that for me… I wonder what Naruto thinks about me?_ She turned her head down to hide her blush as Naruto laid the meat filled biscuits on the table on a platter. Ronnel guided Anko to one chair, rubbing her back soothingly as she got her breathe back under control. As she took two of the biscuits, he stepped out from behind her and sank down onto the seat beside her. Seeing that everyone had their food, he smiled slightly.

"Well then, our first meal with our whole family together, welcome to the madhouse Haku-chan. Alright everyone –" Ronnel began, with the group joining in for the next word.

"Itadakimasu!" For a while, there was silence as everyone began eating, happily stuffing themselves with the food that Ronnel had cooked, Anko obviously treasuring the food. _This is the first meal I'm eating with Ron-kun as my boyfriend…_ She bit into one of the biscuits savagely, hiding her blush as they ate.

Afterwards, when Naruto's clones had finished washing the dishes, the group was sitting down in the main room to read from scrolls. Haku had somehow found a book on medical theory, and was brushing up on her textual informarion; Naruto had retrieved a scroll on combat styles and was trying to decide on a specific style to use for his taijutsu. The new couple had matching scrolls, Ronnel studying a scroll on his second element to see if he could learn any new tricks while Anko pored through a scroll on her element, cackling madly at some of the new things she was learning as she snuggled into Ronnel's side.

Everyone's head shot up when there was a knock on the door. The girls immediately disavowed opening the door, leaving Naruto and Ronnel. The two shinobi stared at each other then decided to settle it with a quick contest.

"Jan-ken-pon!" The kunoichi slapped their palms to their faces at the antics of the two guys. Anko found out the results when her cushion levered her up and stalked towards the door, grumbling under his breathe about short blonde bastards who got too damn lucky. He laid his hand on the door, sending another glare back at Naruto as he twisted the nob open.

"Sorry if I'm coming over late, but I need to talk to you four about the Chuunin Exams." Sarutobi smiled at the group from the doorway. Ronnel sighed and led the man in, showing him to one of the overstuffed chairs as Ronnel himself sank back down behind Anko, who quickly resumed leaning against him.

"Do I have your attention?" The old man tilted his head, noting that four pairs of eyes were staring at him. "I'll take your silence as a yes. Well, about the Exams then. We are hosting them here in Konoha this time around, and while we have room enough for most of them, there is one team that is a problem. The Suna team apparently has quite a reputation amongst the other villages attending, and the other leaders refuse to send their teams if there is any chance of them being roomed near the Sand team." Ronnel rubbed his eyes wearily, seeing where this was going.

"Alright, alright, we'll let them stay here." Anko blinked up at him, a small blush on her face. She whispered something into his ear, and grinned when he nodded. She curled against him as Naruto and Haku looked at the Hokage for his reply.

"Excellent! I'll let the delegates know that the Sunagakure team will be quartered separately from theirs. Thank you, and good night." The Hokage bowed out gracefully. The Apartment dwellers looked at the time and blinked.

"Wow, it is late after all. Well, Naruto, get to bed quickly, I'll begin your training tomorrow. Haku-chan, your shift at the hospital apparently starts at eleven, so you have a bit of free time tomorrow morning. Anko-chan… I have no idea what time you have to get up, but Naruto and I will begin training at around seven. If you want to join us, by all means feel free. For now though, let's all get to bed." The other ninja nodded and began making their way upstairs, Ronnel held Anko's arm for a moment. "Ko-hime, you sure you want to move in to the room across from mine?" The purple haired Jounin smiled at him gently before nodding and heading upstairs to move her stuff to her new room. Looking after her, the Rei-Uzumaki smiled and shook his head.

_ How did I get this lucky?_ He shrugged and trudged up the stairs, wondering what the next month before the Exams would bring.

_**And End Chapter.**_

_**AN:**_

_**Well here's the next chapter, after a slight mix-up involving sending my beta only a fifth of the chapter…**_

_**Apparently a bit heavy on the fluff, but then, just wait until Temari is around. Poll about the status of the harems is going to close at midnight central USA time in two days, so if you haven't voted, you'd better hurry!**_

_**Review Responses:**_

_**Nayami-chan:**_

_**I'm glad you liked the last chapter, hope this one is as good as you expected. Hmm. I'm probably going to have Tsunade heal him, but later, after another event I'm planning occurs. Ahh Sakura, Sakura. She's going to become a bit role for now, and will be until after the time skip. Sasuke is indeed the one who grabbed the scythe too.**_

_**Wyrtha: **_

_**The other half of the top posting duo! Hehe, thanks. And before you start worrying about Sasuke and Jashinism, remember just who it is that Ronnel hunts down when he wants a challenge. He might not take Sasuke down himself, but come on! There's no way he would neglect training Sasuke in fighting them right? And even if he had(He hasn't) he did tell everyone of the active shinobi just how to defeat a Jashinist. So even if Naruto doesn't(…no comment) take down Sasuke, Haku and Kakashi both know as well, and so does Zabuza if it comes to that lol. Wow, long response for a short review, hope it clarified things mate!**_

_**I Love Shy Girls:**_

_**-bows- Thank you. Ronnel does have backstory with the Jashinists, true. And it all stems from his story with HIdan. Just wait until they meet, which is going to be after the Time Skip. Then you'll get backstory ehehehehe.**_

_**o.o**_

_**Ah, the first flamer. Tell me, if you hate the story so much, if you refuse to believe the truth, then why are you still reading this? No one is forcing you to read my story, and I'm that you could find one without an ACC if it irritates you that much, so honestly, why do you apparently torture yourself with my story? Is it mental self-flagellation? Are you masochistic, is that it? Jokes aside. If you don't like one of the integral parts of my story, for Kami's sake, DON'T READ IT! Simple as that. Thank you and good night.**_

_**Amras Black Fox and geetac:**_

_**Glad you two like the story, hope this chapter is as enjoyable.**_

_**Schnookums:**_

_**Any chance you could link me to the story? And I'm glad you like mine!**_

_**Hope Breaker:**_

_**I feel bad for asking… but what does dic mean? Is it some acronym, or abbreviation?**_


	12. Chapter 11

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto… (If I did [**_insert joke here_**])**_

_**Chapter 11 – One Last Run!**_

Naruto cracked his neck as he sat up and looked around his room nervously. When Ronnel didn't throw freezing water on him, and Anko didn't appear to attack him with snakes, the boy blinked in shock. He had become accustomed to the rude awakenings from the duo for sleeping in, and not having one worried him. He stood up and moved to the curtain across his window, throwing it open to check that he hadn't risen before the sun.

The harsh glare of sunlight nearly blinded the boy's eyes, accustomed as they were to the dark of his room. He stepped away from the window, rubbing his watering eyes furiously. "Ok… I slept in, that's for sure. So why aren't I being punished for it?" He grabbed his gear, sliding it on as he crept downstairs. After Naruto had passed her room, a head popped out, a slender hand reaching out to move tousled hair out from in front of her eyes. Haku peered after Naruto's form as he headed downstairs, before she ducked back into her room to get ready.

Downstairs, Naruto paused when he saw Anko sitting at the table munching on pancakes. A heaping platter sat in the center of the table, with syrup and powdered sugar next to it. Less nervous now, the boy entered the room openly, waving at Anko, who merely waved her fork back at him before digging into the next pancake. As Naruto sat down, he saw Ronnel standing at the stove frying something in a pan.

The Jinchuruuki inhaled deeply at the aroma that filled his nose from that pan. He watched with anticipation as Ronnel killed the flame under the pan and turned around, scooping a platter out of a cupboard with his open hand. The young man laid the platter on the table, then speared the contents of the pan with a large fork. He transferred the food from the pan to the platter, and grinned when he saw Naruto's eyes widen hungrily at the sight of ham steaks.

"Roll your tongue back into your mouth otouto. There's one for each of us. Stop hiding at the top of the stairs Haku, Anko and I aren't going to punish you two for sleeping in today." This caused the two younger ninja to look at each other in confusion as Haku came down the stairs and sat down next to him, grabbing her own plate.

Naruto scrunched his face in thought (we've all seen him do it). After several minutes, his eyes widened and he shot up from the table, rushing over to a small calendar and checking the date. A second later, the blonde boy shot towards his older brother, who had seen this coming and set the pan down on the stove and braced himself.

The two kunoichi looked with traces of confusion as Naruto clutched onto Ronnel's shirt as his body shook with sobs. Anko's trained hearing could make out that the Jinchuruuki was saying something, but for the life of her she couldn't tell what that was. She caught the questioning glance that Haku sent her, and shrugged her shoulders. She jerked her head at the two shinobi, indicating that one of them would have to explain what had just happened. Ronnel ignored this byplay as he just stroked Naruto's hair, repeating to the younger male that everything was fine.

Finally, the blonde genin pulled away and wiped his eyes on his sleeve as he sat down. The boy was in a strange state, and didn't notice the looks their female apartment mates were giving him. Ronnel decided to explain before the girls drilled holes in Naruto with their stares. As soon as he began speaking their eyes switched to him.

"Girls, it's the anniversary of when I took Naruto in as my little brother officially. This day always gets to him like this, and it's why I was letting him sleep in. Naruto." The boy looked up when he heard Ronnel's tone shift. "The Hokage wants us to report for a mission in approximately two and a half hours. Mission briefing. Anko-chan, you're supposed to be there too." With that little bit out of the way, Ronnel visibly relaxed as he sank into the chair next to Anko and began eating. The others took that as a cue that it was sage for them to eat as well, and began devouring the food on the table.

After the food had been eaten and the dishes had been washed, the group stretched. Naruto looked at the clock on the wall and blinked in surprise. The meal had lasted about forty-five minutes, probably because they had been laughing and joking the entire time, with Naruto poking fun at the older couple right up until the point that Anko threatened to tie him up with a trio of female boa constrictors. When Naruto paled at this, more than the threat would normally warrant, Haku asked for an explanation.

A laughing Ronnel explained that after the first prank that Naruto pulled on Anko –stringing her underwear throughout the Hyuuga complex- the woman had retaliated by bringing in three boa constrictors in and tying him to his bed. What Anko hadn't known is that one of those constrictors had mastered its own Alter, one that changed it into a particularly disgusting looking woman. And unfortunately for Naruto, that snake had just entered her breeding season, and decided that Naruto would be the perfect father for her next batch. Haku listened with a glowing blush as Ronnel went on to explain that the snake-woman had convinced her sisters to hold Naruto down and had stripped the boy of his shirt and pants and was working on the boxers when Ronnel decided to enter the room, and had seen the tableau. The then chuunin had acted quickly, dispelling the snakes and reclothing his brother, who had entered a state of shock.

Anko had actually apologized for that. However, the two had overcome it, and it was now a point of teasing for Anko to get Naruto with, as she had just demonstrated. Haku turned and patted Naruto's head.

"I won't let the mean snake rape you Naruto-kun." The blonde boy just gave the Ice Mistress a weird look before sighing and running his fingers through his hair.

"Aniki, there's an hour and a half before our meeting. I'm going to go get showered and ready, meet ya there." He pushed away from the table and trooped up the stairs, leaving three sets of eyes behind.

"Was the snake story really true?" Haku spoke as soon as they heard the water upstairs in Naruto's bathroom start. Ronnel grinned and nodded.

"Yeah, the snake really did try raping the brat. If Ron-kun hadn't wanted to be nice to his brother, she would have gotten away with it too. Of course, I would have had to kill her, or break the contract, and the snakes would rather lose one of the boas than lose a summoner who isn't an asshole." Anko was the one who spoke to answer Haku's question. At the girl's expression, Anko explained. "She'd have to be killed because her children would have been human/snake summon hybrids, and that's something that Manda would use to threaten the other summons, and if he tried that, he knows he would lose me as a summoner, leaving the Snake Pedorapist as the only Snake Summoner. And trust me… Manda might be a rude serpent, but even he has his limits. He wouldn't like too much to lose me. So, it worked out fine. She got taken care of, and I got a little bribe from the snakes not to give up the contract." Haku blinked twice. Anko held up one arm, showing a small tattoo on her arm to the girl. Haku rubbed her eyes and sighed.

"Haku, you should go get ready. Your shift at the hospital starts in half an hour. You don't want to get black marks so soon into your stay." Ronnel gestured up the stairs, and the girl nodded and went to get ready. The young man stood up and stretched again, and blinked when Anko stood up and pinned him to the wall, staring at him with a slight fiery gaze.

"You know what's going on with that mission. Spill." Ronnel grinned and shook his head, and doubled over when Anko brought her knee up into his stomach. He grasped his knee with one hand as he bent over, gasping for breath. He stood slowly and glared at her. She grinned, then glared back when he shook his head and rolled away before she could knee him again. He scrambled up the stairs and got ready, while the woman he loved glared at his back before sighing and going to get ready herself.

**Office of the Sandaime Hokage**

Sarutobi looked up as a trio of footsteps stopped outside of his door. He steepled his fingers and pulled out the form of the mission he knew he was about to assign.

"Enter." The door swung open, letting three of the members from the Apartments in. The Hokage watched as Naruto, Anko and Ronnel entered the room, with Naruto visibly controlling himself. The boy looked like he was about to explode into noise, when a combined look from the two Jounin froze him in his tracks. Ronnel looked up to Sarutobi and stepped forward as he began speaking.

"Team Gale reporting for duty, with attached Jounin Mitarashi Anko." The trio came to attention in front of their commanding officer. Said officer grinned at the three before spinning the mission form around for them to see. Ronnel scooped it up, his eyes scanning down the paper to take in details he already knew. A slight grin tugged at one corner of his mouth.

"The mission is B-ranked. We are to escort a weapon smith as he picks up supplies. There is estimated bandit activity along the route. The route is rather long, thus the high rank. There is a possibility that the mission might be upgraded to A-rank, as there are rumors of a ninja being active." Naruto and Anko nodded, before Naruto raised one hand. Sarutobi nodded to the boy.

"Eto.. why are we being requested? I mean, you haven't exactly been piling on the missions since I was put under Aniki's care. So why a B-rank, and why now? We've only got a week or so before the Exams…" Sarutobi nodded slowly, acknowledging the boy's statement. He gestured to Ronnel, indicating the man should answer his little brother's question.

"Lazy old man. Naruto, the reason we've been hired is because the client requested you and I specifically. He even stated in his request that he would be willing to pay for an S-rank mission if it was necessary to get you and I, and one person of our choice." Naruto blinked at what his brother said.

"Actually Naruto… when his request came in, I only recognized one of the names on the form. After a few minutes, I remembered something Ronnel had mentioned when he reported back to me after your training trip." Naruto stiffened at that. A peek out of the corner of his eye told him that Anko was leaning forward on her feet slightly. It was easy to see why, as despite how close she and Ronnel had gotten, they still had told her very little about their years of training.

"So imagine my surprise when a request comes in, bearing the name 'Kaze Kitsune.' But once Ronnel saw the name, when I called him in to ask him about it, he explained.. It seems that the man knows you two fairly well. Now then you three, the client will be here momentarily." Almost as soon as Sarutobi finished speaking, the door swung open. A grizzled, haggard man entered, and his face lit up on seeing Naruto and Ronnel. He walked over to them, limping on his cane, coming to a halt in front of them.

"Hello brats." Naruto blinked twice, then leapt forward and nearly tackled the smith. Anko and Sarutobi were confused at this reaction, until Ronnel stepped forward and pulled his adopted brother off their client.

"Old man, I told you that we knew this old coot, but I didn't tell you how. This is the guy that Naruto and I stayed with while we were in the Land of Iron getting our weapons made. In fact, this guy is the one who made my swords, and the staff that Naruto uses. So old coot, when do we leave?" Ronnel turned to look at his client. The old man grinned and jerked his head at the door.

"Now brats. I want to get my supplies and get home." Naruto stepped back and nodded, with the two Jounin looking at the Hokage who gave them the go ahead. The group left the room quietly, headed out to the gates. Sarutobi looked after them for a moment then looked down at the information on the moniker that Naruto had adopted for his work. _Kaze Kitsune…. An interesting name indeed._ He tapped his chin in thought as he looked back at his greatest foe. _Every day torching this crap with a Kaiton jutsu sounds better and better….. until I realize just what an ungodly amount of paperwork that would spawn…_ The old man shuddered before sighing and pulling the next sheet of paper to look at.

**With Team Gale** **plus the client**

Anko looked back and forth between the three males, her head on a near swivel. "Alright, that's it! Naruto, Ronnel, one of you had better tell me what this crap about Wind Fox is about, or you are going to regret it!" The woman finally snapped. To her shock, she saw Naruto sigh and hand over several hundred ryo to Ronnel.

"I'll tell you Anko-chan. It'll pass the time as we travel, and the old man won't mind hearing about it too much will you Satonashi?"" The weapon smith grunted and shook his head slightly. "Ok then. Around four years into our trip, Naruto and I came upon this little village that was being plagued by a rather large bandit group. In fact, the bandits outnumbered the villagers something like two to one. These villagers were all scared to death, barely left their homes, their crops were rotting in the fields… I know you've seen oppressed peasant lands Ko-chan, and this village was just like one of those.

Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, Ruto-kun and I had run out of several necessary supplies and we needed to replenish them. So we had no choice but to stop in this village and buy what we could. It took us a while, but we found out that most of the supplies that we desperately needed had been stolen from the villagers not long before by those bandits. Naruto, who had already been wanting to take up the villager's cause, saw this as a golden opportunity to convince me to help them. It didn't take much." A signal to Naruto had the blonde Genin creating clones that spread out and began circling around them on patrol. Ronnel took a swig from his water canteen and continued.

"It was nightfall when we arrived at the bandit camp. The damn place had been fortified until it resembled its own village. I felt that it was time Naruto start planning things out and… wow. The kid definitely showed his devious mind. He came up with dozens of escape routes the bandits might use, and set traps on each one. Then he created about thirty Kage Bunshin and set fifteen of them at two of the bandit camp's gates, with myself and he at the front gate." Anko nodded slowly, able to imagine the horde of Narutos, having seen the boy create much larger numbers than that before.

"I tore open the front gate with a Fuuton: Daitoppa. Naruto had his clones waiting for that, and they unleashed their own Wind moves to tear down their gates. The clones waded in before us, herding the bandits out their secret escape routes, not knowing that more than enough traps waited along those routes. Some of them decided to try escaping through the front, since neither Naruto nor I had done anything since I opened it." Naruto perked up a little, knowing what Ronnel was about to describe.

Ronnel looked at the old smith, noting that the man, like Anko, was leaning towards him slightly as he spoke. The Jounin grinned and shook his head a bit before finishing the tale of the attack on the camp. "Naruto and I saw two men. One was wearing way old school shinobi attire, the other had on samurai armor. Not the mock-up most bandits have, real Samurai armor, chakra draining and everything. Naruto tried to take off to fight the samurai, probably because I hadn't yet explained how useless his normal kind of fighting would be against the powerhouse. I hauled him back and told him to get rid of the nuke-nin while I handled the other.

We took off at our respective opponents, with Naruto unleashing his Kazegane for the first time. The samurai made the mistake of turning to watch as his partner was lopped in half, and then had his torso smashed to a paste. I got behind him fast, so that when he turned around he didn't see me. My kunai was lodged in his jugular before he realized what it meant that I wasn't in his sight. After that, we made short work of the other bandits, not realizing that some had managed to make it past us while we were eliminating the leaders. Of those, a few stuck around long enough to hear me compliment Naruto-kun on his, and these were my words, 'fox-like deviousness and excellent use of wind.' The bandits began spreading the word about the boy who planned like a fox and used wind to deadly skill, and somewhere, someone shortened it to the Kaze Kitsune, Wind Fox.

Of course, we didn't know about his impressive new title until a trio of chuunin from Iwagakure came after him. They thought that because they could use Doton, they'd be safe from Naruto's Wind attacks… and for the most part, they were. Naruto couldn't get to them with all but one of his attacks, and he hates using it with a passion." Ronnel raised one hand up as Naruto stiffened. They all watched the blonde as he stood there for a long moment, then relaxed.

"Aniki, there were two bandits waiting up ahead. I lost two clones, one to report the sighting, and one to report that the bandits were dead. After their deaths, my second clone checked his Bingo Book… they aren't in it. Simple bandits." Ronnel nodded at the blonde Jinchuruuki's report. Anko poked the boy in his side.

"Spill kid. How'd you handle three chuunin?" Naruto looked away, as if ashamed.

"Anko-chan, calm down. Naruto killed one of them… I dealt with the other two. They kept hiding in Earth Domes to keep safe from his Wind attacks, so I flooded them out. They must have just been promoted or something, because two of them died before they realized what was happening. Sadly, I thought all three had died, so I canceled my jutsu when the dome fell. That's where I got this scar." The man tapped the side of his throat, where a silvery scar traced along one side. "Naruto saw me go down with blood erupting from my throat. He flipped out, and used another technique….one he made up on the spot. It's a combination of a Kuchiyose and a Fuuton." Naruto spoke up.

"Aniki, I'd like to tell her. I want it to come from me." The elder shinobi nodded, dropping back to replace Naruto at the smith's side. The smith was listening, already knowing most of the story. "Anko-neechan… I summoned a chakra construct. A fox made of wind, about as large as a horse." The Snake-mistress tilted her head, curious as to why Naruto had wanted that information to come from him. "That's not the end of it neechan. I…" The boy paused, then spoke in a rush. "I implanted the Kyuubi's mind in the construct." Seeing Anko's eyes widen, Naruto hurried to finish his explanation. "Kyuu-sensei isn't bad. An Uchiha controlled it to attack Konoha. Anyway, Kyuu-sensei wasn't happy, because it had seen Ronnel-aniki go down, and like me thought he was dead. So… the Kyuubi, in the chakra construct I created, tore the last chuunin to shreds. But not before we heard him say that I really was the Kaze Kitsune." Anko blinked in shock and looked over at Ronnel.

"The wound looked worse than it was. A really simple medical jutsu, one I was able to do myself, and I was fine except for this scar. The fox that Naruto summoned/created dispelled rather shortly after that. Later, we found out that Naruto could do that same thing again, at will. The Wind Fox he summons lasts only for a few minutes though, and is only about as strong and fast as he himself is. But considering it's a fox, and has an upgraded version of the Furyuu's ability to shoot Wind Explosions, that puts it at about mid to high chuunin. The three of us-" he pointed at himself, then Naruto and then Naruto's stomach indicating the Fox, "-think that if Naruto could bust that elementalist fixation of his, he would be able to do the same thing for the other elements. But since he can't, really can't, it's a moot point. Find out anything you didn't already know Satonashi-san?" The Jounin turned to regard the client, and the weapon smith just laughed and nodded. Anko pointed at the laughing man.

"Ok, so how do you know these two?" Satonashi grinned.

"My story is a lot more simple than that tale. I'm the man who made the swords for the Seven Deadly Swordsmen of the Mist. So when the tall brat wanted someone to make those two weapons that could take a beating and possibly have special traits, my name kept getting mentioned to him. So, he hunted me down. I had sworn off making weapons, mostly because those who used them were most famous as killers of dozens, like Zabuza –"

"Who's reformed himself!" Naruto interjected angrily. He was tired of people assuming the worst of his friends. Satonashi reached out and rubbed Naruto's hair.

"Be that as it may. When you two came to visit me, I thought he was a killer. Same for that accursed wielder of Samehada, Kisame. So when the Reaper Hunter came asking for a pair of blades, I refused him, It wasn't until he also asked for a staff that I realized he wasn't thinking like the normal murderers who wanted blades that could kill dozens with one stroke. And so I had him tell me what the functions that he wanted on his blades and the staff were, and I eventually changed my mind. Or rather… blondie there changed my mind. The big moron had the shrimp talk to me daily, trying to get me to rethink my stance on making their weapons. The oaf proved not to be such a moron, because, well, it worked. Naruto changed my mind about making a few more weapons, and I did. I made Ronny those swords of his, and I made Naruto that staff." A thought occurred to the smith. "Hey brat, where'd you get that truncheon anyway? It's not of my make."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head nervously, chuckling. "Uh… I grabbed one from the local ANBU supply shop, because nothing else had anything near this quality." While listening with one ear to the talk between the smith and the Genin, Anko noticed that Ronnel had a quick grin flash across his face before settling into a stoic mask. She tilted her head at this, wondering what on earth was going through her partner's mind. Shaking her suspicion off, knowing that the other Jounin would tell her when he was ready.

Conversation halted again when the two Jounin felt the hair on the back of their necks prickle. Immediately they began searching the area nearby, with Ronnel signaling Naruto to stay close to Satonashi. Naruto closed his eyes momentarily when he felt a clone disperse. Then his eyes widened in shock.

"_Aniki! There's about eight bandits around us!_" Satonashi overheard the fierce whisper and blinked.  
"Why are eight bandits so worrisome to the Kaze Kitsune?"

"Because somehow, they slipped past his clones. And that in and of itself is troublesome." Ronnel's voice was hard as he scanned the trees, now able to see the enemy. "Satonashi. How far are we from the meeting place?" The old man calculated in his head, considering the speed they had traveled at.

"We're about four minutes from it at our current speed." Ronnel blinked as he processed this. Then he grabbed Satonashi.

"Naruto, clone screen. Anko, make a dash at full speed to the meeting location. Naruto, follow as soon as your clones are distracting the bandits and whoever is supporting them. Let's move people!" The male Jounin took off, shooting through the trees of the forest instead of the winding path. Anko followed, with Naruto steps behind her after creating a large mass of clones, some of those clones henging or Altering into the others of the team, and all of them scattering in different, random directions. The clones that ran into the bandits fought them, the sheer numbers of the clones allowing most to either win their fights, or to escape easily.

Moments after the last clone had escaped, a shadowed figure landed on the ground, punching the earth in frustration. The figure looked up from under its hood and growled under its breath, snatching its weapon up from the ground where it had been dropped. The figure swung the weapon, cutting through the ground where Ronnel and Naruto had stood moments before.

"I will find you Hunter. And when I do, you will regret ever crossing my kin." The figure swore to itself, then leapt into the trees to the south.

**Splinter(Trading Town, Hi no Kuni forest)**

The group of ninja stared into the forest guardedly. They had felt a wave of malice shoot through the forest not long after they escaped from its borders into the town. After several minutes passed with nothing happening, Naruto created dozens of clones that flitted out into the woods just around the town, surrounding it within seconds. This defense in place, a second, smaller group of clone ran out into the woods and laid carefully hidden traps. When the last of the trap layers dispersed itself, Naruto nodded to Ronnel.

The Jounin looked over at Satonashi. "Alright old coot. We're here, so where are you supposed to meet your contact?" The smith nodded slowly, then gestured for the trio to follow him. They traveled through the small village to a location near the other side from where they had entered. When they arrived, the group paused behind Satonashi, who was frozen in shock. He raised one trembling hand and pointed at a spot where it looked like a building had recently burned down. A resident of Splinter came up to the group and tapped Satonashi on the shoulder.

"'Ere you, are ye Satonashi Kairan, the weapon smith?" The group came on guard, the three ninja instantly watching his man as a potential threat. At Satonashi's nod, the man continued. "Right then. The fella who lived 'ere had some stuff for ye, but he found some weirdoes taking it from his vaults. Not many days after that, two or three at the most, the place burned down. As far as we know, the fella was still inside. All we know about yer stuff is that the weirdoes who took off with it didn't get too far. They've been demanding we have a smith come out and make 'em gear from it. They've killed two of us now because we had no smith." The information given, the man shot inside of a nearby house. The group of ninja looked at each other, then at Satonashi. The smith stood still for a long minute, then turned to look back at them.

"Ronnel, Naruto. I want to ask you two a favor. Help me make this run, my last run, please. I'm almost done with smithing, just have one thing left to make before I can hang up my hammer. Please, help me get my gear back so I can finish my last run…" The man trailed off, his voice choking with tears. Though he didn't say anything, the ninja could tell that he had been close to the man who had died. The way his fist kept clenching and unclenching told them that much. It also told them that even if they left, the man would go after the bandits alone.

It was Naruto who was the first to move. He walked over to Satonashi and grabbed the man's hand, squeezing it hard.

"I don't know about them Satonashi-san. But I will help you. And I _will_ right the wrong that was done here. That's a promise." Ronnel shook his head, a slight grin etching across his face. He had been worried when the news of what happened here got revealed, but Naruto's dedication told him the boy hadn't changed after the events in Wave. He strode over and wrapped his hand around Naruto and Satonashi's.

"Can't back down and leave my apprentice to face 'weirdoes' all by himself now can I?" A moment of silence, then Anko's slender hand rested on top of Ronnel's. She didn't say anything, but merely looked at each of them men for a moment, then at the burnt down building, then back to their hands.

"We'll get them Otouto, Satonashi-san. They have Team Gale and the Snake Mistress of Konoha after them. There won't be a thing left." Ronnel's calm words appeared to be some kind of trigger; as soon as he had spoken, a series of explosions ripped through the forest.

_**Despicable Author Style: Cliffhanger Techinque!**_

_**Review Responses:**_

_**Firelordeg:**_

_**Thanks for the review… what does the acronym stand for? Only thing I can think of is As Soon As Lag Allows…..**_

_**Geetac:  
Hope you like this chapter as well then.**_

_**Thastaer:**_

_**I'm glad I was able to change your mind then! This chapter begins the next segment that I am changing from canon.**_

_**Nayami-chan:  
You are now my most devoted reader/reviewer! The Sand children won't be showing up for a couple chapters, but when they do…. Ehehehehehehe. Hope you continue enjoying the story!**_

_**Schnookums:**_

_**Hehe. I've actually read that story before, and in part it was the inspiration for how I began this one. The exams are coming up, but first, one more mission, completely non-canon.**_

_**Darkprince0521:**_

_**Got everything you wanted to know about Naruto's alias? –grins-**_

_**Yami Kurushimi:  
-bows- thank you kind.. sir/madam. Writer's block got to me on this chapter, but I kept on keeping on!**_

_**  
Katestar98:**_

_**Well then I'm going to have to give you another chapter to read won't I? Hope this one suits your needs.**_

_**Garm88:**_

_**The multiple punctuations is something I'm working on reducing. I thought it was a good way to indicate that the character was pausing, but my beta suggested it was just annoying to read. And as for Hinata's stuttering… there's a reason I haven't written many scenes with her in them. But she is more shy and reticent because Naruto wasn't around for her to latch on to for inspiration, and she suffered for it. But when the Chuunin Exams come around… you'll see a bit of a change.**_

_**Risa98170:**_

_**Hope I kept the good job going with this chapter!**_

_** Sorry about the delay on this one folks! Had a bit of trouble writing it (I will find a cure for writer's block, I swear it!), but I managed to keep on keeping on. Thanks to all my reviewers, and to Hooplah for bearing with this as the beta!**_

_** Ladies and gentlemen… Something has screwed up. For some reason, the actual chapter one of this story is now gone, and as I typed it up on a laptop that is now dead, I cannot recover it, nor can I remember what it was. If someone happened to save it(unlikely…) I would greatly appreciate it if they would send it in. I'm going to have to go in and retype one anyway, and that might mess up anyone who has already read it who goes back to reread the start. Gomen nasai.**_


	13. Chapter 12

_**I make no money from this. I get nothing other than the warm feeling from the rare flame, and the sense of accomplishment that comes from knowing people like what I write. **_

_**I DON'T OWN NARUTO!**_

_**Chapter Twelve: End Run**_

"_We'll get them Otouto, Satonashi-san. They have Team Gale and the Snake Mistress of Konoha after them. There won't be a thing left." Ronnel's calm words appeared to be some kind of trigger; as soon as he had spoken, a series of explosions ripped through the forest._

_**Continuing:**_

The shinobi immediately came on guard, with Naruto closing his eyes and sending silent orders out by creating clones and dispersing them. He opened his eyes and looked at Ronnel.

"It's four bandits, and a guy in dark robes. The guy in dark robes took out my traps and left, telling the bandits he was returning to the base. The bandits have orders to take the weapon smith alive, if crippled. We are open game for them. The guy seemed pretty abrupt though, the clone that was spying got the feeling that the robed person didn't think the bandits would succeed." The boy paused, his eyes closing as more memories filtered into his mind. "My clones have taken out the bandits, and three are following after the robed figure. ANIKI!" Ronnel's eyes narrowed as Naruto's tone shifted.

"Aniki, get eyes in the sky now! You need to see what my clones just realized!" Ronnel created a Kage Bunshin, wincing at the drain, and had it henge into a hawk that flew up into the sky. The bird-clone faltered in the sky when it reached a certain height and dispersed, letting Ronnel see what his clone had seen. His right hand curled into a tight fist as he looked at Anko and Satonashi.

"Anko, Satonashi, get everyone out of this village and somewhere safe a.s.a.p. Naruto, have your clones hang back in tracking him, they cannot be seen by the robed figure, it is imperative that we know where it has gone." Ronnel's tone was heavy and serious, startling Anko and Satonashi who had never seen the man so serious. "This is serious guys. The thing that Naruto had me check is that there is a giant seal in the ground, carved through the forest by clearing trees. The seal… is the Jashin seal that is used for the Dark Rites. You two have to get everyone out of here, and Satonashi, that means you can't hold back for now." Anko turned curious eyes toward the smith, blinking when he nodded and gripped the cane in his hand and drew out a blade.

"No time, go! Naruto, handle the bandits quickly, try to stay nearby in case your clones let you know that the figure has stopped." Ronnel looked over at Satonashi. "This is high A or low S now with a Jashinist who's about to activate the Dark Rite, depending on whether or not they're on their own, or if he/she has a master who has already performed the Rite." The man nodded and turned away, setting into the village to try to convince people to leave. Anko traveled behind him, using her snake summons to scare the villagers away when Satonashi couldn't get them to leave by himself.

Naruto had created another clone and dispelled it so his other clones knew of the updated situation. He closed his eyes and sat down with Ronnel standing behind him waiting for new information. It was only a few minutes before Naruto's eyes snapped open and he turned to look up at his adopted brother.

"Their location is approximately one mile into the forest. They have some kind of shack out there. And yes aniki… there are two of them." Naruto stood up shakily. He knew from Ronnel's descriptions just what kind of atrocities that a Jashinist had to perform to even be ready to attempt the Dark Rite. It was the reason they rarely made it to that level without a master, quite often people would hire shinobi once they noticed what was going on. It was when they had a master, someone to guide them, that Jashinists were truly terrifying, for the master could use their abilities to kidnap a victim for their apprentice.

That a Jashinist master and apprentice duo were about to enact the Dark Rite on a village so close to his home angered the blonde boy. He gripped his truncheon hilt tight and looked at his older brother, the red lines in his eyes glinting.

"Aniki, I want the apprentice." Ronnel blinked and looked down at Naruto. The boy looked slightly feral, with his teeth drawn back in a grimace and the red in his eyes sparking with anger. He sighed to himself internally. _Great. His territoriality is acting up. It won't be pretty if the apprentice can't hold his own._ Rubbing his eyes again, he nodded.

"Fine. I'll take the master and you'll handle the apprentice. If you aren't done with him/her by the time I get done with mine, I'll –" Naruto brought his hand up.

"No aniki. This will be my fight. Ok, my clone just saw the master inside the shack through a window." Naruto crouched down, waiting for the go signal. Ronnel created a pair of Bunshin and sent them to Anko and Satonashi, letting them know that the assault was about to begin. Anko sent a flare of chakra up into the air as a reply.  
Ronnel clapped his hands, causing Naruto to dash through the trees. The man drew in a deep breath and brought out his longsword and followed quickly.

**Naruto vs Jashin apprentice**

Naruto's clones opened the assault, unleashing a torrent of wind blades at their target. The sudden attack devastated the shack and threw both the apprentice and the master through the clearing. When they recovered from the blasts, both looked around, trying to figure out where this attack had come from.

"On your guard boy. If either of them saw you, it's a sure bet that the Hunter will be after us both." The master spoke in harsh tones as he looked around the clearing. A flash of orange caught the apprentice's attention. He looked to his master who nodded once, then leapt after the orange.

Naruto grinned slightly as his clone led the apprentice towards his traps. He pulled out his truncheon and hefted it carefully, testing the metal against his kunai and grinning wider as the apprentice began setting off the traps.

**Ronnel vs. Jashin Master**

After the apprentice leapt away, the master turned around and saw a figure in stark white clothes and holding a pair of swords standing on the other side of the clearing. He growled and grabbed his scythe and spun it around, pointing the spike on the end towards the figure.

"Hello Hunter. Your hunt ends here." He spat out angrily, staring at the person who had been systematically wiping out the Jashinists. Ronnel spun the claymore back into the sheathe over his shoulder and shifted the longsword to his right hand.

"Hunter eh? Odd name, but I'd have to say it works for me. But my 'hunt' won't end until Hidan is dead." The Jounin spun his blade over his hand several times and gathered a mass of wind around his spare hand. He paused slightly at the look of shock that the Jashinist gave him when he said his old village mate's name. _Does he know Hidan?_ Shaking the thought off, Ronnel sprinted towards one side throwing the wind from his left hand towards the ground at the Jashinist's feet.

His opponent wasted no time in flipping backwards and throwing a trio of shuriken at Ronnel from mid-leap. As he landed he dashed forward with a dark gleam in his eye as his blade began pulsing with a dark red hue. The Konoha-nin growled as the shuriken swept past him to thud into a tree, exploding on contact. The tree, shorn of its base, began falling.

Ronnel's sword came up and caught the scythe blade on its edge, bringing Ronnel face to face with the Jashinist. A caricature of scars criss-crossed the man's flesh, looking as if he had been sewn back together by an inexpert hand. The Jounin had no time to consider what that meant as the Jashin followed spun around, swinging the scythe so the axe-blade on the back hurtled in towards the Konoha shinobi.

Dropping down to the ground and launching himself back from his foe, Ronnel grimaced to himself. _This guy has kept up his skills despite immortality. This fight isn't going to be as easy as the others. I hope Naruto's alright._ He planted his feet in the ground and unscrewed a water bottle at his waist hurriedly and ran through a chain of hand seals, wincing at the chakra drain necessary to use one hand.

The chain finished as the Jashinist closed in again, sweeping his scythe down towards Ronnel's legs. The white-clad man brought his sword down hard, temporarily pinning the scythe to the ground. The worshiper of the Blood God looked up in time to see Ronnel's fist swing in, a spike of hardened water leading into his right eye.  
As Ronnel pulled away from the now half-blind Jashinist, he cast a worried glance towards where he had seen the apprentice run. The sounds of the fight over there indicated it wasn't going well for one of the two, and he devoutly hoped it was his adopted brother who was winning.

**Naruto vs. Apprentice**

Naruto grinned evilly as his opponent staggered around in a daze in the small clearing. While he hadn't had much time to set up traps, no one in their group was better than he at constructing them, so what he had built were diabolical. The first one his opponent had set off was a trigger plate that set off a small barrel that launched four kunai with explosive tags on contact detonation triggers, towards the ground at his feet. Since they weren't aimed at him, the Apprentice hadn't reacted in time, and the explosions sent him hurtling through the air into the next trap.

After the chain of traps were done, and the Jashinist Acolyte had proved that he had some skill by surviving, Naruto decided it was time to end the game of cat and mouse that he had started. His target was staggering around now, poisoned, half-blind from a trio of high-powered flash grenades that had gone off in his face, and partially deaf from the multiple explosions that had surrounded him since he entered the clearing. His coat had been torn away, revealing tattered clothes that hung on an emaciated frame.

The Jashinist wielded only his scythe, a weapon that was as tall as he. It had two blades sprouting from the end, one on the reverse side of the other. For a second, Naruto had to keep from laughing at the impression that his foe was wielding a giant pick. His urge to laugh died when the apprentice spun around, still dazed, and sliced clean through a rather large tree. The display of how sharp that blade was sobered the blonde Jinchuruuki up rapidly.

Naruto decided that he most definitely did not want this fight to last long at all. The apprentice had not yet undergone the Dark Rite, meaning if he did have any skills, they would likely be trained up. For a second, Naruto considered that Ronnel had gotten the easier fight, but then he remembered that his brother still had to find the damn vial of blood before he could kill his opponent. He shrugged slightly and created a trio of clones that fanned out and began sniping at their target with kunai that had explosive tags stuffed through the rings. Even if they didn't get lucky and injure the apprentice directly, the explosions would keep him distracted.

The Container himself looked up at the sky and nodded slightly. There were large clouds drifting lazily near the sun. He closed his eyes and began concentrating, tuning out the sounds of explosions coming from near him. He let his consciousness drift up into the sky near those clouds, and bent his will onto the winds around them. Slowly, the clouds shifted their course and floated in between the sun and the small forest, darkening it rapidly.

Shadows began filling the clearings that the two battles were occurring in as Naruto signaled to his clones to stand down. All three were ready to replace themselves with their creator in case something went wrong. Naruto pulled up his hood and sank back into the shadows, the reason for his motley of dark clothes becoming evident to an impartial observer as he seemed to shift into a mass of random patches that blurred against the eye that blended in perfectly with the shadow-drenched forest.

The Jashin Apprentice cleared his eyes groggily, still in a slight haze from the poison that yet flowed through his veins. However, with the cessation of the explosions, he had managed to recover his balance for the most part and now brought his scythe up into a rough guard as his eyes darted around the clearing, trying to find his opponent. For a second he saw a flash of blonde but rapidly lost track of it. The skeletal young man began spinning in his place in the center of the clearing, staggering still as he fought off the last dregs of the weak poison.

"Well well well, nervous? I would be… your master has the one of the strongest men to figure out how to defeat the immortality granted to your perverse Masters after his life." The voice came from near the Jashinist, but at the same time, sounded like it was coming from across the clearing. The apprentice spun around wildly, swinging his scythe in a wide arc, trying to catch his tauntor off guard. There was a chuckle as the attack missed. "Oh come off it wanna-be. You're poisoned, I've already proven that I can kill you easily, and the one person who might save you had barely a snow-ball's chance in Makai of surviving his own fight. I am going to kill you myself, and I'm going to enjoy it. Want to know why little fanatic?" The Jashinist swung his scythe out along the rope connected to it, trying this time for the voice that sounded far away. In his panicked state, he missed the small pop that accompanied the death of the clone he destroyed. He brought the scythe in, and grinned as he caught it, feeling the shaft impact on something solid.

He spun around in time to see a mass of shadows be flung away from him. He cursed himself inwardly for not managing to cut his opponent so he could tie him down at least, but to have even hit whoever it was that was tormenting him like this was an achievement, and in the apprentice's eyes, the first step in winning this fight. Sadly for him, his luck would run out.

A flash of blonde from the impact point had the boy spinning around, gripping his scythe tighter. Thinking he had his target cornered, he stalked forward and began his own taunting.

"Sure, I'd love to know why some little would-be hero thought he could kill one of the followers of the True God. I'm sure this is going to be entertaining." The answer he got back chilled his bones for some reason.

"You have intruded upon my territory. I am the Jinchuruuki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune, most powerful of the Bijuu ever to have lived. I have gained traits from him, and one of those is the fierce need to protect my turf. You have invaded my home, come near my den, and sought to work your tainted rituals on my soil. I will kill you for that. And as for would be hero… I am the Kaze Kitsune." The Jashinist froze at the name, and that would mark his death.

Crouched at his feet was Naruto, Altered into the form of a rather large fox, and henged into the bushes that his clone had leapt into. He sprang upwards, cancelling the henge as his fox fangs sank into the Jashinist's throat and his claws began tearing into the apprentice's chest. Blood and gore flew back as the claws tore through flesh like tissue paper, soon hooking out his intestines and ripping them out to land on the ground in a slimy pile.

Naruto only let his jaws ease back when he felt the destroyed human below him stop struggling feebly. He sat up and released the Alter, pausing to talk to the Kyuubi. _Are you happy now? I know you've been craving to feel a kill from your natural form. __**Aww, you did this for me? I'm touched kit, really touched. Right at the end of my tenth tail. Now stop boasting and go find out if your brother needs help.**_ Naruto stood up and cracked his neck, wincing at the soreness in his ribs from the slam he had received from the scythe shaft. He turned around and sprinted back to the clearing, trying to find out how Ronnel's fight was going.

**Ronnel vs. Master**

The fight was not going well. Ronnel had barely managed to avoid being cut a half-dozen times, and did have a blood trailing down from one arm from a slice he had received. He had managed to screw up the ritual circle in time to stop being sucked in to the dark ritual, but it had been touch and go.

The Jashinst Master was faring much worse. He had several large flaps of skin hanging from his body, but the immortality kept him alive, and like Hidan, he was enough of a sadist that he was clearly enjoying the pain of having his skin peeled off. Despite his success in flaying his foe, he had yet to find the vial of blood that granted him the immortality.

_Think hot-shot, think! This guy is obviously old, way old. He recognized me, and he recognized Hidan's name, that has to mean something! None of these guys could give a rat's ass about anyone but themselves an- And their Apprentices! Holy Kami, this might be Hidan's Master!_ Ronnel head snapped up and forward, startling the Master who had been trying to sneak forward silently while Ronnel was recovering from being kicked through a tree.

"You're Hidan's old master." The master merely grinned evilly and swung his scythe lightning fast, only to blink as it caught in the stone that Ronnel had been hiding by leaning against it. The Jounin landed on the blade and drew out the claymore finally, sheathing the longsword as he brought the other blade out. "You are. And if you are, I know where your vial is." This got a reaction from the old man. He grew panicked and tried dragging his scythe out from the stone frantically, only to have his hands get stepped on. He looked up in time to catch Ronnel's boot directly to his face.

The Jashinist fell to the ground, and before he could recover, Ronnel had dropped down and pinned him with his longsword through the heart. While it didn't kill the follower of the Blood God, it would keep him pinned until the blade was drawn out. A pair of kunai solved the problem of the man using his own arms to free himself, for even if he did pull them free, the blades had severed the tendons in his arms, rendering them useless for a few minutes. He looked up from his pinned arms to stare at the brown haired Jounin.

"I doubt that you can kill me. If you knew where my vial was, you already would have killed me." He spat up at Ronnel, managing to get some up to Ronnel's face. The Konoha shinobi calmly wiped his face clean of spittle and knelt next to the much older male, shaking his head slowly.

"Wrong, so wrong old fool. I knew Hidan well, better than anyone else. So, when he thought I was dying of wounds he had inflicted on my, he decided to be talkative. He told me where he keeps his vial, and where he got the idea." This truly had the old man panicking. He tore his hands free, not caring about the damage, and uselessly tried freeing himself from the longsword., screaming in fear of death the whole time.

The claymore entering through his mouth and tearing through the soft tissue at the back, shattering the small glass vial embedded in the flesh there, silenced him permanently. After dragging his blades free of the corpse, Ronnel collapsed to the ground, exhausted. Naruto dropped out of the tree from which he had been watching and rushed over to his brother. He flipped the older shinobi over, and was shocked to find numerous tears in his clothing that had not been there last time he had seen his older brother.

"Relax 'Ruto." The words did little to reassure the boy, spoken as they were in a voice that was weak and exhausted. "Relax, really kiddo. He only cut me once, and I destroyed the circle before he could use the Sacrificial Marriage. The rest of the cuts..well, I finally managed to perfect the skin hardening. It hurts like hell though, blunt damage equivalent to the slashing, or piercing, or whatever it would normally be. Bruised a couple of bones for sure, and I think I broke a rib." Ronnel forced himself to his feet, using the claymore as a crutch. "And it's a chakra sinkhole. I couldn't even start any other techniques while I was using it. Come on, let's go find Anko so the two of you can finish wiping out the bandits. Without the Jashinists to provide support, they should be easy pickings. Oh, and before I forget Use these scrolls, and send a clone to retrieve the scythe. The less of those things there are in the world, the better." Suiting action to word, the Jounin fumbled a scroll out and pressed it to the Jashin Master's scythe. A cloud of smoke and an echo of a wordless scream later, and the scythe was sealed into the scroll. Naruto took the second scroll and sent a clone after the scythe of the apprentice.

That done, he grabbed his older brother and began dragging/helping him from the clearing, trying to find where Anko had gone.

**Minutes later, the main evacuation site**

"Calm down already!" Anko's voice cracked out through the large crowd of people. They stilled at the ring of authority in her words, and turned to look at her. "Alright, now then. If everything works out right, you'll all be able to go home soon. A couple of my team members headed out to take on some really bad guys, and they're the ones who are threatening your homes, and the reason you all had to evacuate. If my teammates win, your homes will be safe once we deal with the bandits, and that won't take long at all." The people milled restlessly, not quite believing the purple haired woman. A cry from the back of the crowd caught Satonashi's attention, and he murmured a soft warning to Anko.

The crowd split apart slowly, letting a blonde haired preteen help a much larger dark haired man in a stained white coat to the front of the gathering. Naruto looked up at Anko and nodded twice, slowly. Then he laid Ronnel down on the ground carefully. Anko looked up at the crowd.

"There it is. These two have dealt with the main threat to your village, and we'll be handling the bandits soon."

"What the hell are you talking about? The bandits are the main threat!" Naruto scowled at the shout from the middle of the crowd. He pushed Ronnel back down, spotting the man trying to rise up to his feet.

"Sit and stay Aniki. I'll field this one." Naruto climbed up beside Anko and turned around to look at the crowd. "You're dead wrong if you thought the bandits were the worst threat to your village. The bandits would just take your belongings, and you can always get new stuff. The two men that we dealt with though, would have taken the lives of every. Last. Person. Everyone. No matter how old, or how young, how sick or how healthy, all of you would have died. And in your deaths, you would have helped create a man who would have been damn near immortal. Your blood would have kept a man from dying after having his head chopped off, his heart torn out, his lungs shredded. And we're not talking about a nice man here. No, the person who would have become the next best thing to immortal from your sacrifice, would have used his new power to kill indiscriminately, without fear. So far as I know, only a few people even know how to kill someone like this, and you're looking at three of the seven who know. As it is, the team leader had to fight one of these immortal men. So shut the hell up, the bandits were the least of your threats." Naruto's rant had rung out into a silent crowd.

"Anko-neechan, Aniki isn't going to be much good for a while. He drained himself to keep the Master from being able to use the Sacrificial Marriage, and it really did drain him. I checked his chakra stores like you taught me, and he's running just above the minimum necessary to sustain life." Anko nodded and looked at her boyfriend worriedly. The she sighed and shook her head, she wasn't going to let her personal emotions get in the way of the mission. If she did, Sarutobi would never let her accompany Ronnel and Naruto on another one.

"Dammit. Satonashi, keep a watch on this lug, make sure he gets rest. Gaki, you're going with me. We're going to wipe out the bandit's den now, while they're still confused and in shock from losing their big guns." She leapt off the platform and landed beside Ronnel. She planted a kiss on his lips and then punched him in the gut. "Don't ever worry me like this again." That said, she looked up at Satonashi, who nodded solemnly, then over at Naruto, who grinned and pointed at the entrance to the evacuation site. There was another Naruto there, waving at her. She didn't look back, really, the gasp from the crowd and the small pop sound behind her told her that the Naruto behind her was a clone.

Shaking her head slightly, Anko used the Shunshin to reappear beside Naruto. She looked towards the blonde Genin and quirked her lips slightly.

"Alright Gaki, we doing this in as loud a manner as fucking possible. No clones though. If you want to use that Wind Fox that you told us about, go ahead and ride the damn thing in. I'm riding one of my larger snakes in and I'm going to let the beast feast on those bandits." She grinned, her face becoming a feral caricature. Naruto merely answered her feral grin with his own and ran through an intricate chain of seals that ended with a large mass of wind forming beside him, gathering into the shape of a massive fox that was easily as tall as a horse. He leapt up onto the back and looked at Anko, who had matched his creation with one of her summons, a large brown snake with yellow and purple markings down its back.

"I'll lead the way nee-chan, my clones tracked them to their lair." Anko nodded once as Naruto and his fox took off, crashing through the trees. She nudged her snake with her knees, setting it off after him. Back by the platform, Satonashi smiled lightly and dropped down to the ground beside Ronnel.

"So that's the kid I'm making a reverse-edged longsword for eh? Yeah, he looks like he'd use both sides. Alright, if nothing else, that speech he gave would have convinced me to make the blade." This had Ronnel looking up at him curiously. "He feels that strongly about it. I've only seen one other person anywhere near that determined, and that was the Kiroii Senko when he swore to destroy the village of the Stone's fighting forces." Something about that phrase caught Ronnel's attention, but before he could think about it, Satonashi leaned over and pressed on one of the pressure points along his neck.

"Sorry kiddo, but the purple haired lass told me to look after you, and you tend to take after your younger brother in finding any possible mayhem and getting involved in it."

**Anko and Naruto**

Their plan was simple. Crash in through the front gate, and lay waste to all of the bandits. Simple in planning, and for the two of them, simple in execution. Anko sent a massive group of explosive notes attached to kunai at the door, and triggered them simultaneously, making the door not explode, but vaporize in the instant heat. The metal binds around the door had been blasted into the room, the superheated metal slicing through the men like a cutter through wheat.

After the door vanished, Naruto and Anko entered, riding their respective mounts into battle. The snake simply swallowed dozens of bandits whole, wiping out two thirds of the bandits within seconds. The fox tore into its targets, sending so much misted blood into the air that eventually the wind that sustained it became tainted, and the normally light blue fox took on a pinkish-red hue. Carnage complete, Anko and Naruto let the mounts vanish, intending to have Anko Shunshin them both back there. Before they left though, Anko reached out and laid one hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"Kid, that thing is really powerful. And when it took in the blood of it's victims, it seemed to get even stronger. Why?" She looked at him, her face serious. Naruto blinked and thought about it for a long moment.  
"Probably because it had something more solid than air making it up. Aniki thinks that if I could ever get, say, lightning or fire to work for me, and make a fox like that, it'd be devastating, S-rank easily. Water and Earth would make a high A-rank. Wind in and of itself is S-rank, because it's got stealth that the other elements would lack. It's as silent as the wind unless I want it to roar." He shrugged, and Anko nodded, accepting it. Many times people who created jutsu didn't know their own techniques limits, simply because if they truly were the creators, they tended to modify the technique subconsciously to fix the error. Her curiosity satiated, she tightened her grip on Naruto's shoulder and Shunshin'd them back to the clearing, to complete their supposedly mission.

A minute later, she Shunshin'd back with an incredibly sheepish look on her face as she headed back to where she had seen the bandit's vault. She destroyed the lock on the door and emptied the contents, sighing in relief when she found Satonashi's supples. With a final look around, and the loot in her hands, Anko left the den of destruction that she and Naruto had created.

_**AN  
There we go, Chapter Twelve, a true update. Sorry everyone, I had some severe writer's block, stacked on top of whatever error wiped out Chapter One, so I had to rewrite that…. Ah forget it, I hate reading long Author's notes and I'm sure ya'll do too. Don't think there's any new stuff in this chapter to be translated.**_

_**Yeah, Ronnel fought his toughest Jashinist so far, and it was Hidan's old master. Hidan isn't going to be as reliant on the blood ritual he uses as he is in Canon, so don't worry about making the good guys over powered, I'm going to try balancing them. And if anyone wants to try getting on to me about Naruto's fight well too bad. He's a ninja, and they don't fight fair. Traps, poison, it all goes. He learned that from Zabuza.**_

_**And now, the review responses.**_

_**Manticore-gur071134:  
Hope this one is another great chapter. The meeting between the Sand Sibs and the Apartment gang will come just after the run in between Kankuro and Konohamaru. Glad you like the plot so far**_

_**  
NeckoFury**_

_**Rezuviuos:  
That was the result of the same issue that got rid of my chapter 1. The names are fixed now, but I still am retyping chapter 1 itself.**_

_**Wyrtha:  
Welcome back! And that's almost what's going to happen. Yes, the last weapon is for Naruto, but this one dislikes swords, so his is going to be a bit different.**_

_**Bleacher:**_

_**Uhm…. He's with Temari and Haku…**_

_**RaiOokami:**_

_**I was just trying to avoid an anti-flame rant there…. And thanks, I'm glad that I've got another convert to the ACC cause lol.**_

_**Silentdragon2k8:**_

_**Yeah, the block is a pain in my atsign double dollar sign. Inspiration is hard to come by with Bakamoto destroying the series so much, and giving half-hearted efforts to fix it now. I read other fanfics for inspiration lol. Woot! I wasn't sure, but I thought I was the first with something like the Wind Fox! Thanks for confirming it!**_

_**Crazyazian:**_

_**Thanks for that! I intend to, writer's block and unforeseen difficulties not withstanding hahaha.**_

_**Cheese lover Tobi:**_

_**Wow. That has to be the longest uninterrupted chain of reviews I've gotten from anyone. Thanks!**_

_**NIGHTCAT11:  
-slight bow- I'm sorry to have given you that impression. Haku WON'T be fading into the background when Temari shows up. She'll be with him, just not his primary love. So no worries on that front, the Ice Maiden won't just bow down! Hopefully that will help you with the personal crisis, and I am sorry to have caused it.**_

_**Dragon and Sword Master:**_

_**I think it is one of the rarer three-way pairings. Glad you like the story!**_

_**-P.S.-**_

_**Really am sorry about the false update to everyone who has me on story alert and not author alert. The last update was actually me getting the first chapter of this story (not counting the prologue) up.**_


	14. Chapter 13

_**Same as normal, I don't own Naruto. The Immortals would be tougher if I did.**_

**Chapter 13: Sand Amongst The Leaves!**

Four days later, the entire village was in the midst of preparations. Small banners hung from certain locations, indicating that they were the 'host' houses, where the foreign ninja would be staying. Most Gennin missions now consisted of helping get Konoha ready for all the foreigners. The stall vendors were saving the best of their goods, ready to try dazzling the young Gennin who would be arriving within the next few days.

Naruto sat on top of the Apartments, his feet resting on the banner for his building - the symbol upon it was an hourglass with a bar above it, the sign of Suna. The boy had his new weapon in his hand and was slowly running a whetstone down the length of the sharpened edge, trying to even out imaginary scratches on the surface of the blade. His hands continued the mindless task of stropping the sword as his thoughts drifted to what had happened the night before.

A yell broke the boy from his reverie, nearly making him drop his sword in surprise. He looked down to the alley behind his home and saw that Konohamaru had run into a strange young man in solid black clothes that had a hood that was pulled up above his head, with two small points, almost like cat ears, sticking up from the top. As the black clad man grabbed Kon's shirt, Naruto grimaced. While normally he wouldn't try anything, foreigners threatening one of his friends was something the Jinchuruuki couldn't stand.

He spun his blade around in his hand so the blunt edge was facing out, then dropped off the edge of the roof silently. The dull blade smacked into the black clad shinobi's wrist, forcing him to drop Konohamaru. Naruto grabbed the boy's scarf and pulled the younger boy behind him and brought his blade up into a guarding position. He blinked as he took in the warrior design in the paint on the other's face, then shook his head.

"Sorry stranger, but I can't let you threaten this kid. Besides, it'd be pretty stupid of you to even try." Now Naruto noticed that behind the other shinobi was a blonde girl who's weapon caught his attention. _Fantastic. He's got back up, and she's a Wind Mistress._ "And as for why it isn't smart… well, that would be three-fold. First, and most important: You'd have to go through me." _Please let them buy this bluff…_ "Second: He's the Hokage's Grandson, so if you hurt him, you'd start an international incident." At this, the young man who had been rolling his arm as if he was getting ready for a fight froze.

"And what's the third thing?" The question came from the blonde girl behind the boy. Despite the fact that her teammate was getting ready for a fight, she hadn't moved even an inch. Instead, she had tilted her head to one side slightly, studying Naruto like he was a specimen on a slide. The blank tone in her voice suggested that if the third reason wasn't good enough, she would strike anyway.

_Crap… what to do what to do… if Kon-otouto gets hurt the village will blame it on me…_ Naruto felt Konohamaru shiver behind him and grimaced. It was at that point that the blonde male felt an intense spike of bloodlust that had him spin his blade around and look around in a bit of startlement. He spotted the source out of the corner of his eye – a redhaired boy with a large gourd on his back was standing upside down on a nearby tree branch. In the back of his mind Kyuubi stirred.

_**Kit, watch it. That guy reeks of bloody sand. I've smelt that before. He holds Ichi.**_ Naruto grimaced in his mind. The Jinchuruuki of the Ichibi no Tanuki definitely messed the scales up even more. Then the blonde Demon Container noticed that the bloodlust was laced with anger, and all of it was directed towards the other two. A feral grin flashed across Naruto's face as he answered.

"Three. The guy reeking of bloody sand behind you is already pissed, and looks like he's about to snap." Both of the people in front of him turned stark white, which was a feat for the painted man. They turned around as the redhead dropped down from the branch and flipped over in midair to land on his feet. Naruto watched as the two shrank back in fear as the other Jinchuruuki walked to them. Both the blonde and the painted one cringed slightly, closing their eyes tightly shut. They opened them in shock when they felt their teammate push past them.

Naruto shoved Konohamaru back, urging him to run with one hand. The boy sprinted around the corner as the blonde Jinchuruuki stared at the red-haired one. The Konoha shinobi had the novel experience of looking _down_ at someone and grinned slightly. The grin vanished quickly though when the other Jinchuruuki spoke.

"I am Gaara. You are?" There was sheer, unbridled bloodlust racing through the boy's words. The blank look on the heavy-lidded boy's face was countered by a sudden, savage grin on the whiskered boy.

"My name is Uzumaki-Rei Naruto. Hello Ichi, I am Kyuu." Behind the redhead, the other two nearly fell to the ground in shock when they saw their teammate falter and fall away from the blonde boy. The girl caught a glimpse of the teeth-baring grin that faded into a normal grin. She watched, her shock growing, as the other blonde clapped one hand on her village's Jinchuruuki before speaking.

"Well then, Sabaku no Gaara. That means that you two are Sabaku no Kankuro – nice war-paint, but the third sigil on the left under your eye is an inch off – and you, ray of sunshine, are Sabaku no Temari. And that means, that if I hadn't stopped Sabaku-kun, an international incident truly would have been impossible to avoid." Naruto grinned slightly. _So glad Aniki and Jiji-chan made me memorize the group. Though I wonder where their sensei is._

"Wait, you mean you weren't joking about that snot-nosed brat being the Hokage's Grandson?" The calm and composed façade on Temari's face had shattered when she realized that she really did almost start a war…aside from the one they were already planning. _Oh man… this kid… he saved us??_ She took a long look at him, taking in the dark green robe that had been swept open, to the piercing blue eyes shot with streaks of a fiery red.

Gaara overcame his startlement and smacked Naruto's hand off his shoulder angrily. "I do not care which of them you carry, Mother wants your blood. I will kill you and validate my existence when the time is right." Naruto looked at him steadily for a moment, hiding that he was in conversation with the Kyuubi.

_Alright Kyuu-sensei. I got territoriality, the ability of the Kitsune to Alter my shape, it's damn near impossible to catch me in a genjutsu unless I want to be, and I've got massive stores of chakra. What did Jinchuruuki Ichi get?_

_**From what I see, not a lot. He's got sand covering him, something I remember Shukaku doing. So, sand armor that'll be hard to crack, I'd venture a guess that he's got excellent control over sand, and apparently, insanity.**_

___Insanity?_

_**That line about killing you to 'validate his existence' is something that Shukaku would spout off every time he went into battle. Come to think of it, we started avoiding him, and it got worse. Wonder if there's something behind that…**_

___Maybe… hmm. Ok then._

_**Kit?**_ The Kyuubi sounded worried. It could tell that it's container and pupil was planning on trying something that could end up hurting.

Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara all froze in shock as Naruto's smile flashed for a brief second before he grabbed the other Jinchuruuki in a hug that cracked the Suna no Yoroi that Gaara had on. As the other Suna Gennin watched on, sand fell away from Gaara's face to reveal that it was turning blue. Temari took a hesitant step forward to tap Naruto's shoulder. _Not that I wouldn't mind seeing the last of this psycho who's always threatening to kill me…but he is still my younger brother and…_ At her light touch, Naruto let go of Gaara, who fell to the ground, grasping his chest as he gasped for breath.

"What – was – that?" He spat out between gasps. He fell backwards as Naruto crouched down onto his heels next to him.

"It was a hug Gaara. I validated your existence – if you didn't exist, how could I have done that?" The cheery smile on Naruto's face confused the redhead. He looked up at the blonde Jinchuruuki as his sand slowly crawled back up into place, turning over the others words in his mind. No matter how he looked at it, neither he nor his 'Mother' could figure out a way to dispute it. "So then, friends?" Gaara blinked and saw that Naruto had stood up and stuck his hand out to him.

Kankuro fell over in shock when his younger brother, who he was sure was a blood thirsty monster who could never touch a human being without immediately wanting to kill them –family included- hesitantly took this Konoha shinobi's hand and stood up, nodding. He made a loud clatter as he landed on the bundle on his back, before he scrambled up quickly, hoping that he hadn't drawn attention from the psychopath and the lunatic (Gaara and Naruto), or from his volatile sister.

Temari barely noticed when her black clad brother collapsed to the ground. She was too busy staring in shock at what had just happened. She remembered times when Gaara hadn't indiscriminately attacked and killed people, and that was typically only because someone stronger than he was around. While demented, the redhead knew times when he was outmatched. For this blonde boy to be able to calm Gaara down from anger, for him to be able to touch, to hug the Jinchuruuki of the Ichibi no Tanuki, spoke volumes to her about just how strong he must be.

Gaara was staring in wonder at his own hand, Shukaku for once silent in the back of his mind. The Sand Armor had refused to move down to cover his left hand, the one he had clasped Naruto's with. For the first time in a long time, he felt human contact, and unlike that last time, he didn't feel any undercurrents of anger or sorrow, only a cheerfulness he couldn't comprehend. He looked up into Naruto's eyes and saw that same cheerfulness shining out from them.

_**Pup….he's…different. I don't want his blood. If he holds the Kyuubi, his blood would hurt me.**_ The Ichibi, feeling his container's sudden reticence about attacking the other Jinchuruuki, gave him a way out. A small trace of relief swept through the redhead. **Who knows. This guy might know how to reinforce the seal so we can both get some sleep. Won't bring that up with the kid though.** This thought Shukaku kept to himself, not wanting to get the child's hopes up.

Naruto merely grasped Gaara's hand and smiled at him. His words further cemented the redhead's acceptance, and confusion. "Alright then! Then some time when we have some spare time, I'll introduce you to some of the things I do for fun."

"What?" Now it was Naruto's turn to look at the other Jinchuruuki in shock. He opened and closed his mouth several times, before shaking his head.

"You know, fun? Games?" The blank look on Gaara's face worried Naruto. He turned back to look at the other two Suna ninja. "Did you guys never let him play games or have fun??" At Temari's trembling nod, the blonde Jinchuruuki slapped his face and dragged his palm down it. "Oh yea, I'm requesting some spare time to play games. You need to lighten up if you want anyone to like you other than me." Shaking his head, Naruto clapped Gaara on the shoulder and started around the building, tapping the girl on the forehead to get her to stop trembling, then stopped long enough to help Kankuro to his feet.

"Come on guys, we need to get you settled. There's only a few more days before the Exams come up, and we need to be rested." Kankuro and Temari stumbled when they realized that what he had said meant that he would be a competitor. The two reacted differently to the news – Kankuro ground his teeth, swearing that he would figure out how another Gennin could pull his brother out of the instantly homicidal maniacal personality he had been in when neither he nor his sister could even get him to smile. Temari on the other hand, scooted closer to Naruto, studying him intently to see if he looked like he would snap on the spot like Baki occasionally did. She blushed when he turned the corner and saw her staring, and shot a beaming smile towards her as he tugged Gaara along.

Once they were inside, Naruto pulled Gaara's sand gourd off and pushed the boy down into the plush chair, not realizing that the chair would swallow the younger Jinchuruuki. Kankuro sank down onto a cushion on the floor near Gaara, his attention on the carpet at his feet as he worked on the puzzle of why his brother had changed so rapidly. Temari sat down on one end of a couch tentatively and looked up to see Naruto smiling at their group.

"Hey everyone! The Sand team is here!" The sudden bellow startled the Sand ninja, making all three snap their heads up to look at Naruto. Then their heads swiveled to the stairs where three sets of footsteps could be heard descending.

The first to arrive was a young woman with dark brown hair in a kimono. Temari noticed that the girl had a faint blush on her face when she looked at Naruto, something that irked the Sand kunoichi for some reason. She shook it off as Naruto introduced the girl as Momochi Haku. Temari's eye quirked, wondering if the girl had any relation to the Shinobi of the Seven Swordsman, Momochi Zabuza. When she smiled, the girl's teeth were normal, so the Suna kunoichi doubted it. She looked up as another woman appeared.

_Two of them? Does he live in a brothel or something???_ Temari's eyebrow flattened when she recognized the woman from the Bingo Book. Naruto's introduction of her as Mitarashi Anko merely confirmed that. Haku had settled down on one of the open chairs, while Anko took up a spot on the other couch as if she were waiting for someone. Then the third step of footsteps arrived.

This time, a man came down the stairs, ducking his head to avoid smacking his forehead on the overhang. He smiled at the group as Naruto introduced him as Rei-Uzumaki Ronnel. This new person sank down onto the couch next to Anko, wrapping one arm around her waist gently and looking at them again before speaking.

"Welcome to the Apartments Suna ninja. Your sensei, Baki, is currently talking with the Hokage about security issues that have come up. He will be along as soon as the discussion is complete. Until then, we have dedicated one of the floors of the Apartments to you. This –" The newest man's arm came up and swept around to indicate the floor they were on, "is the ground floor. It's where breakfast and dinner will be served. If you feel the need to meet with villagers, or someone from another village, this is the floor where you can bring them. The first floor up is where you will be staying, with a main bathroom at the end of the hall, and the adjoining bedrooms having their own small toilet areas. Please stay to that floor unless one of us asks you up."

Kankuro raised his hand slightly. The purple haired woman, Anko, looked over at him. "What is it make-up boy?" The puppeteer scowled for a moment before replying.

"Where are we going to get training done? Doubt it would be a good idea to let loose in this place." He looked around, wondering if the Konoha ninja thought that they wouldn't practice. While he could practice in his own room, and Gaara didn't practice at all, Temari wouldn't be able to work on her wind techniques if she didn't have room. And considering that at least one of these people was blatantly unafraid of the bloodlust that had been pouring from Gaara, Kankuro did _NOT _want to piss them off by having his sister accidently tear out one of the supporting walls.

"Ah, that's easy. We've got an open training ground, it's where Aniki and I go for practice for our Fuuton techniques. We won't mind sharing it with you guys, will we Aniki?" Naruto fielded the puppeteer's question, finishing by looking over at Ronnel who shook his head. "Well then, now that that is settled, why don't I show you guys some of the sights around Konoha? Gaara?" The blonde Jinchuruuki looked at the redhead, tilting his own slightly. When the volatile Container stood up and nodded, Naruto grinned and ran to the door.

"Come on, come on!" Anko and Ronnel looked amused as Kankuro and Temari looked at each other before shrugging helplessly and following after the two Jinchuruuki. When Haku stood up to follow them, a snake wrapped around one of her legs. She turned around and glared at Anko, who merely stared at her.

"Sorry girlie, but you have duty in fifteen minutes. You need to get ready and get over to work. Ronnel can go let the Hokage know that they arrived. I have stuff that I need to get done too. No slacking off for us!" The brown haired Hyoton wielder lowered her head but nodded before going upstairs to get into her scrubs. Ronnel stood up as well, sighing.

"As much fun as that would be though… you're right Ko-chan. We can't afford to be lazy. Go get ready for I&T, I need to go tell the old man, and provide overwatch for their little expedition." He pulled on his Jounin vest and slid his weapons into the sheathes that had finally been sewn on. He leaned forward as Anko stood up, pressing his lips against hers. She moaned unhappily when he pulled back and wagged his finger. "Now now Ko-chan. We're not going to scar Haku when she comes down here. Go get ready, I'll see you tonight unless you have to pull another all-nighter." The female Jounin scowled at her boyfriend but went upstairs to get herself ready.

Ronnel rubbed his face and sighed. _Things are going to get interesting around here for a while. I'd better go let the old man and the Sand leader know that his team is getting the Uzumaki-Rei guided tour._ He sighed again and stalked out of the room, using the Shunpo to get to the Hokage's Tower.

_**With Naruto and the Sand Sibs**_

Their group came to a halt outside a massive complex with men standing guard outside. Naruto turned and grinned at the Sand ninja.

"First up is the lovely Hyuuga Mansion. Most of this clan has giant sticks shoved far up their arses, but there is at least one good person in there. We came here first because I think she'll be able to show you," Naruto pointed to Temari, "since she'll probably know the places girls like to go that I don't."

"Why didn't we just have that Haku girl come with us?" She watched as Naruto moved up to the guards and asked if a Hinata was in. The guard on the left nodded and headed inside to retrieve the girl. While they were waiting, Naruto turned around and answered her question.

"Haku-chan just joined the village a few weeks ago herself. That, and she has work now." That threw the other ninja off. The older man and the purple haired woman were obviously ninja, as was Naruto. Did a civilian live with them? "She works at the ninja hospital. And before you think she's a civilian, she's a medical kunoichi, chuunin ranked." He chuckled as their looks of confusion turned to startlement. He heard soft footsteps coming up to them and turned around.

The Sand trio was treated to the sight of Naruto turning around and suddenly snatching up the pale eyed girl who had come up behind him and spinning around, holding her in a hug. When he set her down, she stumbled and he had to catch her.

"Ehe, sorry Hinata-nee. Guys, this is my friend Hyuuga Hinata. Don't expect her to talk too much, we're still working on her stutter. Ow!" The blonde boy rubbed his arm where the blue haired girl had jabbed him with a glowing finger. The girl stuck her tongue out at the boy. "Mean. Anyway, she tries not to speak unless she has to. Aside from that, she's the best kunoichi in our generation, and if it weren't for the fact that last year has the Weapons Mistress, I'd say the best of the last two or three years. Imouto, I'm showing them around the village. Want to come with and help?" The girl nodded and signaled the guard who had followed her outside. The man bowed slightly then headed back inside.

"Yosh! Then the next stop will be somewhere that we ninja appreciate, the weapons store!" Naruto lead their group down several streets, at times making random turns down alleys. As they walked, the Sand ninja noticed that the older people in the village sent Naruto evil looks as he walked along. Kankuro was about to ask when a soft hand laid on his shoulder. He followed the arm back to see Hinata shaking her head. The black clad Suna shinobi tilted his head before his eyes widened as he recognized where he knew those looks from. His eyes cut over to Gaara, who was walking quietly behind Naruto, his head tilted as he studied their official guide. _If I'm right... how did one end up homicidal and the other such a nice guy???_

His thoughts were interrupted by Naruto stopping in front of him. He turned to see that they were in front of a small, non-descript store that looked more like it was a little civilian shop than a weapons seller. Naruto ignored the confused look from the foreign ninja and ushered them into the shop. He grinned at Hinata, who shook her head and went inside in front of the blond boy.

The blonde Jinchuruuki walked in to see the looks of shock on the faces of the three foreigners. He looked around himself, nodding slightly. The place hadn't changed much since the last time he was here. Space enhancing seals had been carved into the interior of the store, nearly quadrupling the size of the inside. Swords of all sizes, from the little wakizashi to the massive claymore hung along two walls, serving as display pieces. Another wall had shuriken of various designs and sizes, like the normal shuriken that most ninja had, as well as their much larger cousin, the Fuuma Shuriken. On the fourth wall (_**AN resisting acting joke here)**_ hung more exotic weapons – chakrams to hook swords to flanged maces. The floor of the shop had the actual weapons that people could buy, conveniently stored in clearly labeled scrolls, with how many of each item they held for the smaller items like shuriken and kunai.

In the center of the room stood the smith and shop owner's pride and joy. In a large display case, covered in intricate defensive seals, were a collection of scythes. The weapons were not the real thing, but representations of the blades that Ronnel, and now Naruto, were collecting from the Jashinists. The real scythes were stored in a sealed scroll in the bottom of the Apartment. Still, the array of deadly scythes was impressive –from the simple scythe that came from one of the first kills that Ronnel had succeeded in, to the pick like scythe that was the weapon of the Jashinist Apprentice that Naruto had humiliated the killed. Taking all of this in was more than enough to shock the three outsiders, who hadn't expected anything like this from what appeared on the outside to be a hole in the wall store.

"Come on guys, surely you've seen a weapon store before. Ne, who's on duty today?" Naruto's question rang out through the quiet shop. From the rear wall, where a large doorway could be seen, came a deep voice.

"Who do you think brat? Why are you here anyway, run out of kunai and explosive tags for you pranks again?" The flaps covering the doorway were pushed aside as a massive man entered the room, ducking to get through the doorway. When he straightened up, the three Suna ninja shrank back quickly, even the slightly deranged Gaara. All of them were intimidated by the man who stood easily eight feet tall, and looked like he was eight feet across, all of it muscle.

"Eh? You have newbies here? Little princess, did he forget to warn them about my shop and about me?" The man turned to look at Hinata, who nodded. Without a pause, as soon as Hinata's head answered yes, a tremendous fist crashed down on top of Naruto's head. "I've told you brat, don't use me as a scare tactic or a prank! Unless it is targeting someone who hurt my precious Tenten." The last bit was mentioned under his breath as he glared at Naruto.

The Jinchuruuki sat up rubbing his head and glared at the shopowner. "So mean. Guys, this is Kousuke Higarachi. He made most of the weapons you see around you, except for those in that case in the center. He's also the adoptive father of a good friend of mine, the only rival for 'Best Konoha Rookie Kunoichi' for these last three years, Tenten Higarachi. Kousuke-san, these three are the Suna delegation, I'm giving them a tour of Konoha." Kousuke shrugged his large shoulders.

"If you guys need anything, you know where to find me now. Though I have to warn you, my wares are not cheap." With that he turned and returned to the rear of the shop.

"How does he stop people from leaving without paying if he stays in the back?" Temari looked to Naruto. The blonde chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his head.

"He's got them sealed so that if you take them outside of this room without him altering the seal in a way that only he knows, the contents of the seal are ejected into the seal realm. While it isn't truly 'lost forever', we haven't ever been able to retrieve anything that this happened to. Theoretically, if we got lucky, we could summon the stuff back but… yeah. Hasn't happened yet, and people have tried. Come on, I have more I want to show you! Gaara, this next place is going to be for you." The redhead turned his head from where he was staring intently at a pair of jagged edged chakrams. He nodded and walked out of the building, prompting the rest of the group to follow him quickly.

_**On the Rooftops across the street**_

Ronnel crouched down when he saw Naruto led them into the Higarachi shop. He knew that it wouldn't take long for them to leave, so he wasn't surprised when they exited moments later. He pulled back into the shadows and suppressed his chakra. The Hokage had asked that he make sure that Naruto not show them anything vital to village security, knowing that the boy was fully too trusting. As he paced them along the roofs, he noticed another shadow following after the group. This one though, was down on the ground behind them. He probed at it with his chakra and was hurled back by a vicious snarl of chakra that was twisting itself inside out. He shook his head and rubbed it, feeling a headache growing from merely viewing that mess of chakra. Whoever it was, was definitely not sane. He carefully planted a trace of his chakra into the mess, which would let him know where that person was even if he lost track of the psychotic person. Out of curiosity, he checked Naruto and Gaara the same way.

Naruto had too soothing flows of chakra running through his body in streams, mimicking a normal person but doubling the number of streams since he was a Jinchuruuki. Just above his heart, the two streams of chakra were slowly merging together. Naruto's blue human chakra and the Kyuubi's red demonic chakra were creating a purplish chakra. The effect wasn't extensive, but in time the Kyuubi would fade as its chakra merged with its hosts.

When Ronnel looked at Gaara though, he blinked in shock. The boy had _three_ lines of chakra flowing in his body. Two of them struggled to maintain the normal routs, a blue line and a brownish line, but the third stream, another human blue, was screwing with them both. It raced back and forth all over the place, defeating the other two in their attempts at harmonizing. _What the hell? Where'd the kid get another human source of chakra?_ Ronnel resolved to check the boy if he would let him, although he was wary due to the reports of the boy's insanity and bloodlust. He had yet to see either of those evidenced, only a sense of confusion and wonder.

Silently, the Jounin watched as the tour stopped at the bath houses when Hinata tugged on Naruto's jacket and pointed at them. The blonde boy shrugged but described them, and his adoptive brother could hear the boy's laughter when the blonde girl squealed and nearly raced inside then and there. It took her brother, Hinata, and Naruto holding her back to keep her from barging in at that moment. They got her calmed down and the blonde Jinchuruuki led the way towards his favorite food stall. The tour then went to the Hokage's Tower, with Naruto describing a bit about the history of the Hokages. After that, he showed them some of the minor points of the village, including the empty training grounds that were available.

_**Back at the Apartments**_

That night, when Naruto lead the Sand nin back into the apartments, he saw his brother talking quietly with a man he didn't recognize. As he stiffened, he saw that Temari and Kankuro had relaxed when they saw him. _Huh. This guy must be their sensei._ He shook the tension out of his shoulders.

"Aniki, we're back." He blinked when his brother looked up at him and winked before shimmering slightly. The blonde boy groaned when he realized what it meant that his brother there had been a clone. Behind the Gennin there was a 'pop' sound that had Gaara bringing his sand out of his gourd as he spun around. Seeing nothing but fading smoke he blinked in confusion.

"Relax Gaara. Anyway, sorry we're so late. Hinata changed our route so she could show Temari the bath houses. But we did get to take Gaara here to the park." Naruto grinned at his fellow Jinchuruuki. "He loves playing games, right Gaara?" The stoic boy nodded.

"While one of these…games… would not have matched the pleasure of killing, there are far more games to play. It is a satisfactory alternative." Temari and Kankuro were breathing sighs of relief while beating themselves up mentally for not finding this out sooner. If they had known that playing games would be all it took to keep their brother from killing people, Suna would have a higher population than it now boasted.

Baki stood up and cleared his throat. "Well then, now that my team is returned, I would like to thank Rei-Uzumaki-san for letting us stay here. Come students, let us sort out rooms and prepare to sleep." The Sand Sibs nodded to Ronnel and Naruto, with Gaara blinking when Naruto pulled him into another hug.

"You're my friend Gaara. We understand each other better than anyone else ever can, even the demons we hold back. If you ever need help, let me know." The redhead had a strange look on his face as he headed up the stairs.

"Won't even ask what that was about. Sorry Naruto, but the girls won't be back any time soon. Ko-chan got roped into a series of sessions, and Haku has paperwork she's been letting pile up since she didn't want to deal with it. They won't get back until late. Even later than now Head on up to bed, I'll have a large breakfast to make up for us not eating dinner." The boy nodded and went upstairs to his own room. Ronnel rubbed his neck to ease the tension that had accumulated there while watching Naruto, Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara play in the park.  
"Che…sometimes I forget that he's still a kid." He shook his head and shunshin'd up to his room.

_**AN-**_

_**Ok, getting back into the swing of things. Next chapter starts the Chuunin Exams arc! This is probably going to end where things are close to canon, so expect deviations from here on out. Cyber cookie to anyone who figures out who the person with the messed up chakra is.**_

_**Review Responses:**_

_**Geetac:**_

_**Thankee sir**_

_**DASM:  
That won't happen until after the Exams, but Naru won't be too happy. Glad you liked the battle scenes!**_

_**Firelordeg:**_

_**My muse would kill me if I didn't write what she got past my writer's block. Still wondering what the acronym means.**_

_**Bleacher:**_

_**They're here, the wait is over!**_

_**Schnookums:**_

_**Fights are hard ugh. Next one out may take longer to type though, sorry about the delay!**_

_**Umbra8191:  
Yahoo, a new reviewer! Here's the next chapter!**_

_**P.S.**_

_**Did I kill my reviewers with the false update? Sorry guys…**_


	15. Chapter 14

_**Disclaimer: I. Do. Not. Own. Naruto. Only Ronnel, and apparently the Wind Fox. Go me.**_

_**Chapter Fourteen: Countdown to Chuunin!**_

_**Apartments**_

The air was laden with the smell of cooking food as Naruto and Haku trudged wearily down the stairs. They had been out late training with Anko the night before, working on Naruto's bladework. He was still reluctant to use the actual edge of his sword, preferring to incapacitate his targets with the blunt side. The two sank down into seats at the table and leaned their heads onto the cool wood, waiting for the food to be ready.

"Good morning Tomodachi." The calm voice of Gaara had Naruto raising his forehead from the smooth tabletop and looked at him, considering their new relationship. The two Jinchuruuki had been growing closer, mostly due to the fact that even though he had calmed down, his siblings were still slightly afraid of their younger brother. Somewhere along the way, Gaara had decided that Naruto was 'Tomodachi' to him, occasionally shortening it to Tomo. That was probably the other reason Naruto was tired – between late night training with Anko, and constantly playing games with the redhead Demon Container, even the blonde boy was beginning to reach the ends of his stamina.

" 'Morning Gaara. Did you manage to get the others to play a game with you while I was out training?" Naruto sat up straighter, rubbing his eyes to clear the grit from them. A grunt from beside the younger Jinchuruuki made the blonde boy realize that there were two unmoving masses next to the redhead – one that had two black spires rising from the top of his head. Since said cranium was laying on the table much like Haku's was, the tips were pointing towards the open seat across from him. On the other side of Gaara was Temari, her hair barely pulled into her trademark pigtails. She managed to pick her head up enough to smile at Naruto, but it was obvious that she too was exhausted.

"I did. However, they proved unable to keep up with me for very long. Still, while they were active, they did manage to entertain me adequately until they passed out." From Kankuro came a loud groan. The black-clad puppeteer lifted his head up and glared at his younger brother.

"Gaara, no one can keep up with you!" He pointedly ignored Naruto's raised hand and statement that he could. "You don't count Naruto, I don't think Gaara can keep up with _you_." He grumbled again and lowered his head back to the table.

The argument that was building up was cut short when a platter with bacon on it was laid on the center of the table. All three males instantly locked their eyes on the sizzling meat that was resting on top of the ceramic dish. Haku and Temari shook their heads as the two Jinchuruuki and the puppeteer moved at the same time to grab a strip from the plate. _They haven't learned yet…_ Haku thought amusedly.

The reaching hands were smacked away from the food by metal tongs wielded by the chef. Naruto and Kankuro pouted as they sat back, while Gaara merely retracted his hand to his lap and stared at Ronnel who had turned his back to them, his attention once more on the food still on the stove. The redhead inched one hand forward slowly as his eyes remained on the cooking Jounin. The other two boys watched nervously, wondering if Gaara would succeed. The girls shook their heads again, having seen this kind of scene playing out since the Suna group had arrived. None of the boys had managed to sneak food yet, but they kept trying.

When Gaara's hand was scant inches away from the food, Ronnel's hand whipped around and launched the metal tongs in his hand. The Jinchuruuki had kept watch on the male Konoha Jounin, and knew that he hadn't turned around to look, so the boy was startled when, once again, his hand smarted from the impact of hot tongs. He sighed and drew his hand back with a small grunt, wondering if he should just cut loose and let Shukaku free on this man who kept him from food. One look over at Naruto though, and that thought faded. Again, the redhead grunted as he sat back, waiting with the others for Ronnel to give them permission to eat.

The Genin conversed quietly for a few minutes as Ronnel finished up the food. From the stairs came a groggy Anko who sat down in the open chair beside Naruto. A few paces behind the purple haired Jounin came the Suna Jounin, Baki. The man sat down between Kankuro and Gaara, and nodded a greeting to the others at the table.

Ronnel turned the heat on the stove off and pulled the cooking food away from the heat. He transferred it to a serving platter and checked to make sure the powdered sugar was on the table. Seeing that it was, he proceeded to lay the food on the table. As the Genin and Anko stared at the egg toast that now rested before them, Ronnel sank down into the open chair at the end of the table. He looked down the length of the table, seeing the hungry faces that waited for him to give the ok.

"Well guys, this is it. Today is the start of the Chuunin Exams. This will be the last meal we eat amicably together, after this, we are competitors. To Suna and Konoha's continuing relations. Itadakimasu." The entire group chimed in for the last word. Soon the food was divided amongst plates that had been unstacked from the center of the table, with people elbowing each other to get seconds. Ronnel, Baki, and Anko looked at each other over their food, then turned their eyes to their charges. They knew, that for four of the children happily eating together, today would end that camaraderie.

When he thought that, then looked at his adopted little brother, Ronnel smiled to himself. _Forget that. If there's anyone who can keep his friends despite becoming enemies for the Exams, it's my otouto. It wouldn't surprise me if they did come out stronger friends than when they went in._ He shook his head slightly and kept eating. Anko caught the smile on his face and pondered it, curious as to why he could watch the end of friendships for his little brother with a smile. She decided to ask him later, putting it off in favor of eating more egg toast.

Just under an hour later, the dishes were done and drying and everyone who was taking part in the contest was finishing with getting their gear on. Temari settled her fan onto her back, Kankuro adjusted his puppet, Gaara checked to make sure the cap on his sand gourd was loose, and Naruto checked his sword and staff one last time. They looked at each other nervously, knowing that when they left, they likely wouldn't be this friendly afterwards. For the Sand ninja, they knew they couldn't be. For Naruto, he fully intended they would be. Eventually, Naruto gripped Kankuro's arm tightly, kissed Temari's hand – a noble action that had Haku grinding her teeth and Temari herself blushing faintly - and pulling his fellow Jinchuruuki into a bone-crushing hug.

"Try not to kill anyone ok? If you need to confirm your existence, just find me." He spoke quietly before pulling away and flashing the Suna ninja a big smile. "See you guys in the Exams! C'mon Aniki!" The blonde boy grabbed his older brother and nearly pulled him off his feet as he sped off down the street towards the Academy, where the first stage of the Exam was being held.  
Baki and the Sand Genin bowed to Anko before taking off themselves. Haku looked up at the purple haired Jounin, her eyes darting back down the trail after her blond haired housemate. The Snake summoner caught the look of worry and laid one hand on the medic's shoulder.

"Relax girlie. Naruto has a couple tricks up his sleeve, really powerful ones. One I've seen that if I was unprepared, could catch me off guard completely. And he and Ronnel mentioned that he has another, even stronger one that he hates using because it's too dangerous. And since Ron-kun's given him permission to go all out, there's no way he can lose. Now come on…missions for the next four weeks are cancelled, so we can set up the welcome back party." Haku nodded, wiping a tear away before following the older woman into the house. She paused at the doorframe to look in the direction Naruto had gone and sent a silent prayer out for her housemate's safety.

_**Chuunin Exams Testing Center**_

Naruto was clapped on the shoulder by his older brother, who grinned down at him before pulling off the blonde's trench coat. Naruto began to protest when Ronnel pulled a scroll out from his hip and unsealed it. The object he grabbed from the scroll was a deep red cloak, the color of stained blood. Along the seams and edges the fabric was a solid silver color that shone in the sunlight. On the center of the back was a spiral made of gold that contrasted sharply with the dark red of the coat.

"Here kiddo, a new coat. I got a sealing adept to enhance the durability and toughness of the cloak. It can supposedly stop a strike from something equivalent to about four hundred psi. Do try to avoid anything stronger than that otouto, though I doubt that any normal Genin could even get near that." The Jounin settled the cloak onto the Jinchuruuki's shoulders. "And on the inside of the sleeves are seals. The left sleeve has forty shuriken stored up, releases in quads. Rights sleeve has ten kunai, single release. And remember, you can go all out." The older Uzumaki-Rei knelt down in front of the younger to stare him in the eyes. "Please, please be careful Naruto-kun. You won't have teammates backing you up this time, so don't rush in so blindly." The blonde Genin nodded slowly.  
"I'll be fine Aniki. Just you watch, I'll put all of your teaching to good use." The boy looked around quickly before wrapping his older brother in a hug.. "I'll be fine, really I will. The only possible threat is the Kumo group and the Suna group. And I'll be keeping my eye on them so they don't get a drop on me. Anyone else will go in expecting that a Genin by himself will be an easy target. They'll be the people who get a rude awakening." He gave a devilish grin.

"One more team to steer clear of. The Iwa group. If they see you…kill them." The command confused the young Genin. "Don't argue with me, and don't disobey me on this Naruto. If an Iwa nin sees and recognizes you, kill them." _I'm sorry otouto, but until I can corner Satonashi about the Destroyer of Stone, the Iwagakure ninja can't find out who you are._ Ronnel stood up. "Now go on and show them what an Uzumaki-Rei can do." Naruto gave his brother a thumbs-up and headed inside. Moments later Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara shot past.

Baki stepped up beside the Konoha Jounin. What could be seen of his face seemed heavily contemplative. "They're good friends aren't they." The completely out of the blue statement startled Ronnel. He turned a curious eye towards the Sand shinobi.

"Our students I mean. I've never seen Temari this happy, never seen Kankuro play around like that, normally he's as serious as the others. Gaara…he has never once smiled like a normal boy his age, not until here, Konoha, not until Naruto." Ronnel looked at him fully, wondering what the other Jounin was working towards. "Ronnel-san, who would you say a sensei's first responsibility is towards? A Kage he despises, or the children he sees as his own, his students?"

"A sensei's first duty is to take care of his students until the day when they can take care of him." The Konoha shinobi was now intrigued. He turned towards the other and took a half-step forward. "What makes you ask that Baki-san?" The Sand Jounin appeared to be lost in thought. He didn't reply for several minutes after Ronnel's question, and when he did speak, it wasn't an answer.

"Rei-Uzumaki Ronnel, can you get me a meeting with your Hokage?" Ronnel took a step back and blinked. He thought for a moment, then looked up at the sky. _What on earth?_  
"I think so. Follow me." Curious still, Ronnel led the way to the Hokage's Tower, one eye on the shinobi following behind him who still appeared to conflicted.

_**In The Exam Room**_

Naruto and the Sand Siblings entered the room, shocked at how many people were there. Ninja from many villages filled the chamber, from Konoha nin, to Kumo, to Oto – a relatively new village- to even Iwa. When the blonde Jinchuruuki saw the Rock hitai-ates, he ducked his head down to avoid having them see his face. He grimaced, remembering his bro-no, for this, his sensei's, order about what to happen if they spotted him.

"Naruto! There you are!" Naruto barely registered the words before the speaker slammed into him. For a moment, all the Jinchuruuki could see was darkness. He was confused until he recognized the smell.

"Kiba-san, please release our friend." The calm words came from in front of Naruto. His attacker chuckled and pulled away, only to wrap the Jinchuruuki under one arm and begin rubbing his hair with his knuckles.

"Sure Shino, sure! Course, first I have to get this lug back for hiding from us for so long!" Shino shook his head at the Inuzuka's actions. He reached over and pinched his teammate's arm, forcing the feral boy to let go of the blonde boy. Kiba retracted his arm with a yelp and glared at the Aburame Heir. His yelp woke up his partner, who poked his snout out from Kiba's hood. When the pup noticed Naruto, he yipped happily.

"K-k-Kiba-kun, I'm s-s-sure Naruto wasn't t-trying to hide from us." Naruto looked up to see Hinata stepping out from behind Shino. He grinned, noticing that the girl's stutter had been dramatically reduced. The Hyuuga Heiress walked over to him and hugged him tightly. "T-t-though it w-w-would have b-been nice t-to hear from you." Naruto chuckled at the admonishment.

"Sorry guys, my new sensei has been pushing me hard to learn as much as I can before the Exams." Kiba looked over as three more people walked up and grinned, flicking his hand up in greeting.

"Troublesome. Hinata and Ino have been trying to find you. So, tell us about what happened after that C-rank. You left on the Emo's team, and came back separated from them." The pineapple haired boy who had come up had his hands stuffed in his pockets and was slouched over. Beside him was the only other blonde Genin in Konoha, who was looking distracted about something. Standing behind those two was Chouji, munching on vegetables. Naruto blinked at that. _Wow. Chouji switched to veggie snacks. I _have_ missed a lot._

"Oh, yeah, you guys would want to know about that huh? Well, it's really simple." The Konoha Genin noticed that three foreigners were standing near them, obviously listening in. They also noticed that Naruto knew they were there too, and didn't mind. Shikamaru blinked as he remembered his father mentioning that Naruto and his family would be hosting the Sand ninja. He was pulled from his musings when Naruto continued speaking.

"That mission was horrible from the start. Duckass and the Banshee barely knew anything. Before we'd been out on the road one day, that lack of knowledge nearly killed them. We were attacked by missing-nin. After we dealt with that, we found out that the man we were supposed to be escorting was the target of Gato of Gato Industries. Had a price on our client's head because the client was building a bridge that would rescue his village from ruin that the fat pig was causing." As Naruto continued his explanation, more Genin listened in. On the faces of the Kirigakure ninja who were listening, shock could be seen. Naruto deftly left out that the apprentice of Zabuza now worked in the village.

"Maa maa, you guys sure are noisy! You might want to tone it down before people take offense and shut you up." A silver haired boy with glasses on came up to their group. He had on unusual clothes for a Konoha nin, something that shook Shikamaru and Naruto. The two shared a glance before looking at the boy. "My name is Kabuto, and I'm somewhat of an expert on these exams. Now, your loudness has offended some people already – look over at the Kumo delegation if you don't believe me." Naruto's eyes cut over in the direction that the other Genin indicated. Sure enough, a trio of Genin with the Cloud symbol were glaring at them.

Naruto shook himself as he looked over at them. For a moment, the blonde girl in the group had struck a chord within the Jinchuruuki. He was confused until he heard the Kyuubi mutter abo0ut explaining when he was alone. The blonde boy looked up at the silver haired Genin.

"So is this your second or third time through the Exams?" It was Ino who asked, feeling uneasy about the other Genin for some reason she couldn't explain. She looked towards her teammates and realized the reason. Shikamaru was tense, something that she had seen only a few times. That tenseness was what was putting her off. She looked back at Kabuto to hear his answer.

"Ah…no. Actually, this is my seventh time through. I hear that they're changing the rules for the first Exam this year, maybe I can make it through." He grinned at her. The smile sent shivers down Ino's spine. "Anyway, because I've been through here so many times, I've compiled data about the other contestants."

"Oh really? Can you give us the names of the top rookies from our village?" Kiba puffed his chest up as he spoke, sure that he would be named. Hinata rolled her eyes at her brash teammate's actions. Kabuto began rifling through a pack of cards. After a few minutes, he pulled out three cards. He held one up and pushed a small surge of chakra through it.

"Here's the oldest one – Rock Lee. He's a second year Genin. Says that he can't use chakra except for minor things like water walking and muscle enhancement, and that he can barely manage those. He makes up for it by having… Whoa! This guy reputedly has high Chuunin or low Jounin Taijutsu skills! Sensei is Gai Maito, Taijutsu master of Konoha. He has completed a B-rank, his highest mission." The silver haired Genin set the card aside and pulled out the next one.

"Ok, now we have a first year rookie, Uchiha Sasuke. Known to have the Sharingan kekkei genkai, but hasn't activated it yet." Sasuke scowled. "Has Chuunin Ninjutsu skills. Sensei is Sharingan no Kakashi, Ninjutsu master of Konoha. Oh my, this guy is impressive! He's got an A-rank completed! Survived an encounter with Momochi Zabuza, one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist in it! I'm impressed!" Sasuke preened himself now, confident that no one could beat that. _Sure, the Dobe might have the same A-rank done, but my name was read first._

"And last but best of the three - Uzumaki-Rei Naruto." Kabuto went silent, staring at the paper in shock. "Class B ninja in the Bingo Book. Named the Kaze Kitsune. Has completed at last count, one S-rank mission, and three A-ranks. Ninjutsu is ranked at Jounin, as is Bojutsu. He has no Genjutsu skills –" _Don't need 'em._ "- and some Fuuinjutsu skills. Oh my my my. Sensei is Rei-Uzumaki Ronnel, the Hunter of the False God." Naruto had been staring at Kabuto intensely. Ronnel had told him that his Bingo Book ranking was sealed knowledge, meaning this man had broken into the office where they were held. _Crap. How do I let someone know?_

"Aside from you three, the top picks to become Chuunin are Sabaku no Gaara from Suna, Nii Yugito from Kumo, and Nasarin Kuro from Iwa. The other villages have good kids, like Kiri, while that new place, Oto, is a complete unknown." Naruto blinked as Kabuto, who had been able to sneak up on them unawares, let someone come up behind him. On the man's hitai-ate was a musical note. The man spun the silver haired boy around and punched him. Kabuto leapt backwards away from the blow, only to find that his glasses were broken. Naruto stared at him, and saw the boy crunch something between his teeth. A confused Jinchuruuki watched as the person he suspected to be a spy spat blood out.

"Put this on your cards four-eyes. The Genin from Otogakure _will_ be Chuunin." Before the Konoha Genin could react to the attack on their village mate, the door at the front of the room burst open wide. In came four figures. The leading man Naruto recognized from seeing him talk with Anko about her work with T&I, Morino Ibiki.

_**Office of the Sandaime Hokage**_

Ronnel pushed open the door and led the Sand Jounin into the Hokage's main office. The other Jounin seemed nervous now, though a glance out the window at the Chuunin Exam Center appeared to calm the man. The Kononha shinobi leaned over and depressed a small panel which sent a signal to the Hokage's private office. His leader alerted, Ronnel stepped away from the wall he had been at and walked over closer to Baki.

"The Hokage should be here in a few moments. Care to tell me what it is that you want to do in this meeting?" The look on the Suna-nin had his Konoha counterpart on guard. The foreigner's expression was haunted, as if whatever he had decided could destroy him forever. "Ok…new question. Are you sure you want to do this?" The information that Baki held could be seen to be tearing him apart. The Rei-Uzumaki went to lay a hand on Baki's shoulder only to pull it back at the angry look he was given.

"Sure or not Rei-Uzumaki-san, I _must_ do this. As you said, a sensei's first duty is to his students. You will understand why I say that when I explain to your Hokage what I know." Baki was drawing a deep breath to steady himself when he nearly bolted out of his chair as Sarutobi spoke from behind him.

"Well then Ambassador-kun, please, explain." Hiruzen stepped around the chair and walked over his desk, his eyes flicking to Ronnel who could only shrug, having no more idea what was going on than the Hokage did. Both men turned to look at the third, who had his face in his hands for several minutes. When he did speak, it shocked both Konoha shinobi to their cores. After he explained what he knew, Baki felt himself be picked up from the chair he had been sitting in and pinned against the wall.

"_Did they befriend him to break him you rotten bastard?_" Ronnel spat the words into Baki's face, his arm crushing the other Jounin's throat. The Konoha Jounin was livid – Sarutobi could see that every visible muscle, and a few underlying ones, were tensed up. The old man reached up and found that his hat had been blown off when Ronnel moved.

Kept in place both by the other Jounin's arm and his killing intent, Baki could only shake his head. The intense k.i. field was focused solely on him, since out in the hall he could hear the secretary continuing her work without a problem. He had never heard of someone focusing their killing intent like this before. Suddenly the arm left his throat, letting him collapse to the ground. He rubbed his throat, knowing it would be hard to talk for a while after that. He looked up into the cold eyes of the Jounin whose house he had been staying in, and the calm visage of the village leader, and broke down crying.

"N-n-n-n-no. T-t-the-they begged t-that he be left alive. Even Gaaara." His words were disjointed, broken up by the sobs. "They pleaded that all four of you be allowed to trade sides." He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Ronnel standing there. He saw the other man heave a large sigh.

"We'll need more technical information you know. And you need to let them know that their part in it is over, unless they want to honor the-"

"They would rather leave the village, and in all honesty, only a stupid sense of unrepaid loyalty kept me there as well. The Kazekage was against the plan initially, but after a private meeting with the Otokage, he abruptly changed his mind. None of us could understand it. Even his mistress knew nothing about it, in fact, she told us that he no longer visited her at all." As Baki spoke, he noticed that Hiruzen and Ronnel's eyes tighten at different spots in what he said. The old man's had narrowed at the mention of the Otokage, whereas Ronnel's had narrowed at the information about the mistress.

"Thoughts Jounin?" Both men stiffened when the Hokage spoke. Ronnel stepped forward, his eyes thoughtful.

"Sir, we know that the Snake sheds his skin periodically. We also know, from the notes yourself and ANBU recovered from his hideout, that the monster had managed to come up with a workable way of completely taking over another's identity except for certain intimate aspects. It's possible that that is what has happened is that the Snake took over the Kazekage's body. It would explain why he changed his mind suddenly, and why he now refuses to meet with his mistress. The Kazekage is an imposter, the Otokage." The others nodded, Sarutobi in confirmation of his own thoughts, Baki in a small amount of fear of the deception.

"We…we're following orders not from our Kage…that _will _be stopping." Baki clenched his hand tight as he stared at the ground.

"Baki-san. Go to your students. Tell them that their part is done with, and that if you, all four of you, wish, the village is willing to take you in. Go now." The Jounin nodded at the Hokage's words, and leapt out the window towards the Exam Center. Ronnel and Sarutobi looked at each other before Ronnel sighed.

"You plan on leaving them in our complex don't you." The older man's eyes twinkled over his pipe as he nodded slowly. The Jounin sighed and rubbed his face. "Then I'd better go warn the others. By your leave sir?" Sarutobi nodded again, more curtly. Ronnel bowed and vanished into thin air. The Sandaime Hokage sank into his chair, puffing meditatively on his pipe while looking out at the monument. _Oh my…..Minato, have I done the right thing by keeping you from him? I'll find out soon enough I suppose…_ He kept smoking as he stared out the window.

_**Chuunin Exam Center**_

_Oh my. The head of Torture and Interrogation here? Whatever this thing is, it's not going to be easy._ Naruto shook his head softly, grinning. Ibiki sent a glare at the younger male, making him stop smiling so widely. Satisfied with that, he looked across the group in the room.

"All right maggots, listen up! Year after year after year, the first Chuunin Exam has been a simple test to see how well you kids did under pressure. They've been watched over by pansy men who would let you come to the next one if you failed." The man let loose a flood of killing intent, altered slightly by a technique he had developed himself. Everyone in the room except for the Jinchuruuki broke out into cold sweats at the pressure that washed over them.

"THAT WILL NOT HAPPEN THIS YEAR!" The people standing closest to him jumped back in shock and fear. The man smiled grimly. "This year, if you fail, you had better pray for a war, because you won't get another shot at the Exams. This Exam is not a paper test like every one before it. You will have one hour to gather information about the mission you will have. And before you whine about when you'll do the mission, that's what the second exam is." Ibiki grinned ferociously at the students. Before he could continue speaking, the doors at the rear of the room opened again. Sasuke came back, smirking like he ruled the world. Naruto's eyes widened at the sight of a scythe on his back, but dismissed it, not remembering the two Jashinists that Ronnel had dealt with while he himself was in Wave. He did wonder when the onyx eyed boy had slipped out of the room, and berated himself for not noticing sooner.

"Sit down and shut up pretty boy. You'd better hope someone cares enough to tell you what was said, because I will not repeat myself for a lazy little brat who can't even obey simple instructions." The dark haired boy's smirk morphed into a scowl as he sat down. Ino headed over and filled him in one what he had missed.

When Sasuke had thrown the doors open, the Sand ninja saw their sensei in the hall, signaling them to him urgently. They slipped out unnoticed, though Gaara left a Sand Clone to report on what was said. Out in the hall the three ninja knelt in front of their sensei.

"I come bearing word of our main mission." The three tensed up. Gaara was heavily considering attacking Baki now to avoid losing the only friend he had ever had. "We're out of it." Three heads snapped up to look at the man. "I told the Hokage what was going on. He has begun making preparations, and has offered to house all four of us as Konoha nin. Go back in there now, and think it over." He vanished in a Shunshin, leaving the three staring open mouthed where he had been. They stood up and stumbled back into the room silently, in time to hear Ibiki's shout.  
"LET THE CHUUNIN EXAMS COMMENCE!"

_**AN**_

_**Here we go! Start of the Chuunin Exams! Hope everyone likes my take on them, it'll be interesting enough. Next chapter has the first, and if I can manage it, the week break. Naruto's going to handle the first easily – Anko is his nee-chan after all, and Ibiki did say anything goes.**_

_**Now, here's something. Someone has put in a suggestion for a third girl with Naruto. He requested either Yugito or Tayuya. I'm putting it in a poll on my account, and will leave it up for four days. At the end of that, I'll take it down and decide. Since being put with either girl will change the Chuunin Exams and just after, I need to know before I can continue.**_

_**And yes I did youthen Yugito,, and yes, the Kumo girl is her.**_

_**Now, on to the reviews!:**_

_**Golfaholic:**_

_**Thanks, tried doing something that isn't seen too often. **_

_**Umbra8191:**_

_**And here's the next!**_

_**Trak The Cat:**_

_**We'll let other people vote between the two.**_

_**Geetac:**_

_**It'll actually be Naruto who fixes it, after the mission to get Tsunade.**_

_**Fanfic Reader:**_

_**Here's the next update then.**_

_**RogueNya:**_

_**Next chapter is up, hope you liked it too!**_

_**Manticore-gurl071134:**_

_**Now it's Gaara bugging everyone else, - and yes, he knows what he's doing.**_

_**Dragon and Sword Master:**_

_**No, they won't be too happy. Not at all. The old man is going to wish he'd included himself in the protective feelings that Ronnel's seal creates. Aside from that, Naruto and Temari will start feeling for each other during the week between the first two tasks – at least, Temari will start liking him then. Naruto might take a bit longer. Until next update Tomodachi.**_

_**Marc:**_

_**Well, he doesn't go blindly charging into situations any more, so I had to change their meeting somehow. Glad so many people liked it.**_

_**Firelordeg:**_

_**THANK YOU! That has been bugging me since the first time you reviewed lol. Now it makes sense. Hope this chapter is as fantastic as the last.**_

_**Nayami-chan:  
Don't sweat it, I know what it's like to be busy and unable to read updates. You're the only person who gets a cyber-cookie, mostly because you're the only person who guessed. The messed up chakra is the first person you thought it was. –hands cyber cookie to Nayami-**_

_**Ofunu:**_

_**Eh, should I consider making that into an omake? Maybe… ehehe. And sadly, the Dark Rite isn't solely taught by the Jashin Masters. Remember, Jashin imbues a part of himself into every scythe. But relax, when he does go full-blown Jashin insane, there already are four people who know how to kill him, two of them with actual combat experience in it.**_

_**That's all the reviews, so until next time!**_

_**-G.T.-**_


	16. Chapter 15

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Never have, and I doubt Kishimoto is going to suddenly choose me to take over.**_

_**Chapter 15 – Information Gathered, Secrets Revealed!**_

_**Chuunin Exam Center Room 409**_

"LET THE CHUUNIN EXAMS BEGIN!" Ibiki's call mobilized the proctors. Moving swiftly, the Genin were split into groups, trying to mix up what villages were put together. For obvious reasons, the Kumogakure team was not put near Team Eight, nor was the Iwagakure team placed in Naruto's group.

A few minutes after the division, Naruto looked around at who he had been placed with. Standing in one corner talking amongst themselves was the Kumo squad. The blonde haired girl kept shooting looks in his direction, confusion on her face. The Konoha Jinchuruuki ignored that and looked at the other people. Leaning against a wall was the Kusagakure team, one of whom was making Naruto twitchy. The final people were the Sound team, including the one who had attacked Kabuto.

_Damn. No one I can team up with. Ne, Kyuubi-sensei, do you know why that blonde girl seems so familiar?_ While waiting for the final mission details, Naruto distracted himself by talking with the Kyuubi. The demon thought on how to word its reply for a moment.

_** Where the Sand boy is One, and you are Nine, she is Two. That answer it?**_ Naruto's eyes widened imperceptibly as he turned to look at the girl, trying to see what her Jinchuruuki traits were. The girl was still staring at him when he turned his gaze to her. With her eyes on him, Naruto was able to see that her eyes were slit like a cat's, and that they seemed to dart like Tora's when she was feeling aggravated. By now, the other Kumo Genin were staring at him as well. _Awwwww Kami take it. I think that they decided I'm their target._ The male Jinchuruuki could hear the Nine Tails laughing in the back of his mind. _What's so funny??_

_**Kit, it's the Chuunin Exams. Your aniki told you that you can go all out here. If they try anything, then you can handle anything that they can hit you with. **_ The demon paused for a second before continuing. _**If all else fails, there's always the Kaze Kitsune. You haven't let me out since Splinter and the bandits there, and I'm getting antsy in here. Give me enough chakra and I can match anything they think you can't.**_ Naruto had to agree with that. He sent a final glance at the blonde girl, who was still watching him intently, before looking at the Grass team.

_Any idea on why that guy is getting my hackles up?_ Before the Kyuubi could answer, Ibiki entered the room. He slammed a stack of folders down on the table, one for each of the squads, and one for Naruto. He stared at them for a moment, unleashing his Killing Intent on them. Naruto noticed that for some reason, only two of the Kusagakure Genin were affected. He chalked the Kumo up to being teammates with a Jinchuruuki, but couldn't figure out why the Sound squad or the third KGrass nin weren't affected.

"Alright maggots, listen up. I'll be handing out these folders to each of you, one per village. Within it is some of the information on the second task. When the first task is over, you will tell a proctor what information you have gathered. They will be told what details you start out with, and if you don't have information from at least two other folders, you will fail. There are three places you can try to gather the additional information. First, you can try to get it from the other squads in this room. If you try that, you can only steal or trade the information. If you attack someone from this room, you're disqualified. Second, you can try to get it from one of the other groups. Those outside the room, you can attack. Be warned, they are receiving the same information, so you might be attacked. And third, you can _try_ to get the information from me." He bared his teeth in a dark grin, one that affected all but three of the Genin in the room.

Naruto rubbed his forehead as Ibiki passed out the information packets. He took his information and scanned over it, grunting at the sparsity. _Huh. Ok, I've got a start time, and the location. I need a time frame, mission parameters… I see why this is info gathering._ He sighed again and memorized the information listed, passing the information packet back to the Head Proctor.

"I'll come to you as a last resort." Ibiki chuckled at the boy's mutter and shooed him away. Naruto returned to the rest of the group and sat down. Without realizing it, Naruto had just protected himself from having his information stolen. Now anyone in the room who wanted what he knew would have to trade him for it. None of the others did that, with the Kumo girl shoving the information down her shirt, and the strange member from Kusa swallowing the packet whole. The Sound boy shoved the packet into the metal contraption on his arm.

"Go." That word set them off. Naruto shot for the door, only to be halted by the Kumo girl. She grabbed his arm and dragged him to the corner of the room near her teammates. The male Jinchuruuki didn't react, feeling no hostile intent from the lesser Container. The girl pinned him against the wall and had her teammates move so that other two teams couldn't see their lips.

"Alright, who are you and why is… my partner scared of you?" The girl covered her near slip, glancing at a teammate to try throwing Naruto off. The Kumogakure boy nodded furiously, actually scared of anyone who frightened his Jinchuruuki teammate's demon. The blonde girl stared at the blonde boy intently, her slitted eyes staring into his red streaked ones. After a few moments, he grinned widely. He raised one hand and poked her on her sternum, where her collarbone joined. She started to growl at him, but halted when he lifted that same hand up and lifted two fingers. _This brat can tell I hold the Nibi? HOW?_ Her thoughts froze when he poked himself in the same spot, then lifted nine fingers. Stunned, she dropped him to the ground and stumbled back.

_He's the Kyuubi Jinchuruuki? Oh man, we can't go against him, not going to happen. No way, no how._ She grabbed her teammates and hissed into their ears hurriedly.

Leaning against the wall now, Naruto grinned and shook his head. He looked past the blonde girl in time to see the strange girl from Kusagakure walk over to the Sound squad and hold up one of her hands. The Oto Genin who had the information blanched at whatever he saw there, and began fumbling at his arm where the papers were held. As soon as he began that, Naruto shoved past the talking girls. He didn't know why, but he had a feeling that the Grass girl succeeding would be very, very bad. When he realized he couldn't snag the papers in time, he brought one hand up and released a trio of wind blades from his palm. Just as the girl took the papers, they were sliced into four sections. Naruto jerked his hand back, bringing the blades back through the fluttering pieces of paper, further slicing them into illegibility. He dropped his hand and stepped back before they looked to him, hoping none of them realized just what had happened to the information.

Ibiki, who had remained in the room, had kept watching Naruto, blinked at this. Destroying the information wasn't something that was expected, and he wondered why the boy had done it. Shifting his gaze to the other two, the Head of the Torture and Interrogation unit was treated to the sight of the two who had been handling the paper looking around with murder in their eyes. The man took a half step back at the ferocity of the girl's gaze, wondering why it reminded him of his second in command's own angry look.

The Kumo team were finishing their argument. The normal boy and girl had been arguing with the Jinchuruuki's decision, but for some reason couldn't convince her that an enemy advancing was a bad thing. Yugito finally gave them a harsh glare and a concession.

"I'll ask him what his relation to the target is." The other two sighed but accepted that, knowing that it was as much as they would get from the blonde girl. The boy averted his eyes as his blonde teammate pulled the information packet out of her shirt, a light blush on his features. The other girl smacked him as the Jinchuruuki grabbed the back of Naruto's shirt and tugged him back into their group.

"One question and then we're willing to trade our information for yours." Naruto looked at her curiously, a little surprised that the other Jinchuruuki was willing to trade with him. "What is your relation to Hyuuga Hinata?" Naruto's hand sprang up, twisting the wrist of the female Jinchuruuki and forcing her back as he dropped into a combative stance.

_**With Haku and Anko**_

_Oh man, I am _never_ getting this girl drunk again!_ Anko rubbed her forehead in aggravation. She had taken Haku out to commiserate being separated from the men in their lives, only to find out that the Hyoton girl could not hold her sake at all. For the past fifteen minutes Haku had been moaning about how 'her Naruto' had been spending so much time with the Sand girl, ignoring the fact that most of the time Naruto was with her, he was also with the puppeteer and the Jinchuruuki boy.

"i-i-it's not fair! Naruto-kun didn't spend so much time with _me_ when I came here! It took me weeks to get as familiar with him as she is!" The dark haired girl blubbered out, barely intelligible to the Snake Mistress. The purple haired woman sent up a silent prayer of thanks for Kurenai, who was almost exactly like this, but over that chain smoker Asuma. It was only because of the Genjutsu Queen that Anko could understand Haku at all.

"Girlie, calm down. Naruto has known you for much longer, he won't just go gallivanting off after the first girl he sees. You know that." The younger girl nodded jerkily. "And besides, there's a couple of factors you need to count in before laying claim to Naruto. He has told you what he holds, right?" Another nod. "Well, one of the traits of a demon fox is that it forms permanent bonds. But the problem is, dominant males like Naruto is seek to lead packs." Haku's eyes widened as she began putting together what Anko was saying. "Yeah, you get it. When he gets to that stage, Naruto won't be able to commit himself to only one person. If you want to be with the gaki, you'll have to get used to the idea of sharing him." Haku stared at her sake dish, the shock burning the alcohol from her system.

Staring at the younger kunoichi, Anko shook her head slightly. _So glad Ron-kun doesn't have that problem._ She sighed and kept drinking her sake, waiting for the brunette girl to come out of her shock.

_**Chuunin Exam Center Room 409**_

Naruto's eyes were darkened as he jumped forward, his leg lashing out and catching the normal Kumo girl in the chest and sending her into the wall. Before he could take out the boy, the Jinchuruuki girl grabbed him from behind.

"Hang on hang on! We're not here to kidnap her!" Red streaked eyes opened wide in startlement when the Nibi Jinchuruuki hissed that in his ear. The blonde boy flexed his arms and broke the girl's hold on him and leapt onto the wall above the stunned girl he had kicked seconds before. He stared at the other Jinchuruuki for a moment, but couldn't detect a waver in anything about her that would indicate a lie. "We'll explain if you meet us in the Second Exam. To help that, we're willing to make a trade for the information you had." The female Jinchuruuki drew out the papers and held them out to him. _I'm glad Kirabi-nii isn't here…he'd have my hide for letting my teammate get hurt._ She shuddered as Naruto dropped to the floor and stalked forward cautiously.

A flicker of movement in the corner of his eye propelled the boy forward, snatching the papers and wrapping his other arm around the girls' waist as he dove forward. In the air where the Kumo team's information packet had been was a long slimy tongue. Naruto shoved the papers down his tunic as he followed the tongue back to its source. The Kusa girl was glaring at him.

"Hand those papers over boya, and you won't get hurt." She took a menacing step forward as a whiff of her scent floated to Naruto. The Grass Kunoichi blinked in shock as Naruto suddenly drew out four slips of paper and threw them down, keeping one just below his hand. The paper fluttered down between the two before he slammed his hand down on the piece nearest him. With wide eyes, everyone in the room jumped a bit in shock as a barrier wall appeared between the two, cutting the Grass and Sound teams off from the rest of the room.

"Ibiki! Can we leave?" Naruto barked the question out, his eyes still on the barrier between him and the girl. The T&I Chief nodded, staring at the barrier seals on the ground. He felt a surge of chakra from Naruto into the seals before the male Jinchuruuki grabbed the blonde girl's hand and tugged her out of the room, with the now recovered Kumo girl and boy following after the two Jinchuruuki. _Hokage-sama mentioned that the Uzumaki-Rei brat had hidden depths, but mid-level barrier seals? That's not easy stuff to get!_ But that brought the question into his mind: why had Naruto revealed this ability before the Second, or the Third Exam? The scarred Jounin brought his eyes up to the Kusa girl, who was staring angrily after the Jinchuruuki.

_**Chuunin Exam Center Main Hall**_

The girl jerked her arm out of Naruto's grasp and glared at him. "What on earth was that about??" She was building up to a tirade when the male Jinchuruuki turned back to her, his eyes hard.

"Look, Nibi Jinchuruuki. The person that tried taking these papers is NOT a Gennin, and shouldn't be in here at all unless I am horribly mistaken. I doubt I am though, and if I'm right.. that person could defeat you easily, even using the Bakaneko's power. I won't tell you more than this – if you run into that team in the Second Exam, don't try fighting them, run." Despite his best efforts, Naruto could feel his voice wavering as he spoke. He shook himself and drew out the information packet and scanned the contents. They had a recommended weapons list, and he quickly ran through a mental checklist, and ended satisfied that he had the recommended equipment and then some. The second information tidbit they had was that it would be an A-rank mission, Search and Retrieval. He nodded to himself and pulled out a pen and filled in the information he had.

Handing the packet back to the girl, he sighed. "I'll look for you in the second stage. Ibiki said you can advance with information from two other groups, so you need one more. By the way –" Naruto was now walking away to find another group to get information from, "my name is Uzumaki-Rei Naruto." He turned a corner and took off.

_**Chuunin Exam Center Room 306**_

A few minutes later, Naruto slipped into another room. There were only three people in the room, telling the blonde Jinchuruuki that the other two teams had already left. The group that remained in the room was from Kiri, with headbands that matched the one that Zabuza once wore, minus the telltale slash. Naruto ghosted in behind them to listen in to see if they held the information that he needed.

"Damn it! Why wouldn't those yarutachi from Sand give us their information?" The thickest boy in the group was grumbling loud enough to mask any sound that Naruto might have made. The tallest one shook his head as he answered.

"I don't think they want us to advance. That's the biggest problem with trading, you give your enemies the same advantage you get. It would have been better if we could have stolen the information like they did from that wimpy Konoha team, but, and I don't know about you two, I am not going to try stealing from _inside_ that make up guy. I don't even know how he got the stuff in him. And I don't want to know." Naruto grinned at this. _So Kankuro is holding his team's information, and they've already got half the information they need to retrieve. But what do these guys have?_

"Guys, calm down. They still need to figure out where to go and when to get there, so that means they still need to find someone else." The third person, a Gennin with a staff on his back, spoke quietly. He raised one hand up, getting the other two to go silent immediately, their eyes darting around the room. The staff carrying boy spun around in time to see the door swing shut. "What on earth was that?"

_**Chuunin Exam Center Main Hall**_

Naruto sighed in aggravation as he leaned against the wall upstairs from the class room that had held the Mist shinobi squad. He still needed to get the final bits of information, but the boisterous boys in that room had the same info that he had been given. _I still need to find a squad that I can take the information from…. There's an idea! __**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu.**_ Copies of the blonde Gennin spread out and began Altering into various insects. They filtered out through the halls as Naruto walked up the wall and sat down on the ceiling above where he had been standing. It wouldn't do for someone to run across him while he was waiting for a response from one of his clones.

Many of the clones were destroyed by twitchy Gennin who were burning off nervous energy from this strange Exam. The beetle that made the mistake of flying near Shino was snatched out of the air and was about to be studied when its compound eyes detected a slight smirk forming under the edge of his collar. The clone gulped in its head, remembering that Shino's Kikaichou let him memorize chakra traits, and that meant he had just given himself away. Instead of crushing the insect though, the Aburame Heir laid the beetle on his shoulder.

"This way you can keep an eye on Hinata." The softly murmured words reminded the clone of the Kumo group and their strange question. Striking on an idea, the beetle-clone chattered at Shino, who tilted his heads, surprised to find that Naruto's clone was speaking as a real beetle. He listened to it for a moment then nodded his head.

"That's some of the information we need, we unfortunately were not able to gather any before being evicted from our room." Shino relayed the information about the start time and location, and apologized that he could not tell the clone any more than it already knew. The beetle settled in to watch over the team.

Back on the ceiling, the real Naruto's eyes snapped open wide. A clone had found the information he needed, and luckily for him, it was on someone he wanted to check out more thoroughly anyway. He dropped to the ground and decided to Alter into a new form so he could get close to the boy without revealing who he was. Deciding that he wanted to get into a fight with the silver haired Gennin he suspected as a spy, he chose a guise from another village. As his features began to change, he cackled to himself, plotting out his attack on the other teen.

_**Chuunin Exam Center – Auxiliary Hall**_

Two floors below the scheming Naruto, the three people who had been his guests until recently were seated on the stone floor, talking amongst themselves about what their sensei had told them. The elder two were in a state of mild shock, amazed that their younger teammate hadn't once threatened them since departing Naruto's company, or more accurately, since Baki informed them that the plans were revealed. Said redhead had slung his gourd onto the ground and was laying down, using the sand gourd as a pillow as he stared at the ceiling and conversed quietly with them.

"You have to admit that what he says is true Temari. The time we've spent here in Konoha has been some of the happiest we've ever had. I haven't seen you smile like this in years." The Puppeteer spoke quietly. "You yourself have been a lot more lively and energetic, and don't think I've missed the looks you've been shooting our ever-so-kind host. That guy really is dense not to have seen them himself!" The black-clad boy ducked as his sister took a half-hearted swing at him with her fan.

Deep down, the blonde girl admitted that what her brothers were saying was true. Their time in Konoha was so different, so much better, than the time they had lived, no, _survived_, in Suna that there was no real comparison between the two. If she was honest with herself, the Wind Mistress had grown tired of merely surviving, she wanted a chance at a real life, as real as a kunoichi could get. And seeing her baby brother, who had descended into madness when bereft of even his favorite uncle, smiling even the tiny fraction that he did, to hear the dry, cracked sound that was his laugh, was enough for her to want to stay in Konoha by itself. The blonde shinobi who had shown them the sights of the village was just icing on the big delicious cake that was the Village Hidden in the Leaves for the kunoichi.

"So it's decided? We live here in Konoha?" She looked between her puppeteering brother and her sand wielding one, her tone low and even. She got dual nods and this confirmation from Kankuro.

"Tema, what do we have tying us to that forsaken village? Baki-sensei is joining Konohagakure, and don't even bother mentioning that bastard who donated sperm to create us. He's excluded himself from us, all we are to him are three more tools, and in his eyes, Gaara is a broken one at that. These people…. Are so different. They view us all the same as everyone else. And that's not saying they treat everyone as scum, they treat everyone as _humans_!" He paused, drawing in a shuddering breath.

"Even Gaara is treated as a human here, by one person who, in our village, would have been as bad off as him, if not worse. You don't sleep in the same room as Gaara Temari, and lately, I have."

"Indeed. It's strange, to be near someone, and desire contact rather than blood. I am finding it new and intriguing. Leaving Naruto would destroy that, and place me back under the control of the man who views me as 'damaged goods'." Only the two with him, and Naruto himself, would catch the trace of bitterness in Gaara's bland tone. "Even if you two were to leave, I would stay to keep from losing that. He is the first to treat me as a person, and if Baki-san hadn't revealed the attack, I would have after the end of this Exam." The other two started at this and looked at him, but for the life of them could not tell if the redhead Jinchuruuki was speaking the truth.

"Alright, enough of that you two! It's decided, we're staying here." Temari stood up abruptly. _I won't look back. I can't. I'm the big sister, I have to watch out for my younger brothers. And this is the best choice for them, for me, for all of us._ She drew in a deep breath and snatched up her fan. "On your feet boys, we've still got to find out where this thing is going on!" All three jumped in shock when a crackling sound came from behind Temari.

"I can help with that actually." They spun around and found Temari found herself face to face with Naruto. The blonde boy was smiling at them, an open and innocent expression. "Don't worry, I heard it. But with what you guys said your Jounin-sensei has already told the old man right? Then there's no problem. Come on, I don't want to tell you all this out in the hall." He grabbed Temari's hand and dragged her into a nearby cellar, with the two ex-Sand shinobi following after him. The clone, lacking all of the originator's awareness, missed the deep blush that spread across the Wind Mistress's face. Facing away, it also escaped having her notice the one on its face at the contact.

_**Chuunin Exam Center Room 306**_

Kabuto wiped his hands off as he stepped away from the carcasses of the Mist Gennin that he had run across. They had the information folder he needed, and it had been such fun getting the data from them. He had of course ignored their attempts to just give him the information folder, preferring to get it out of them with his methods. The opportunity to practice his experiments was just an added boon for the silver haired traitor.

He paused, wondering why the three had been on edge already when he entered the room. He knew he hadn't made any noise, and yet they had all been staring at the door, tense as if they were expecting a fight that moment. The fact that they were prepared had made it slightly more entertaining for the false Gennin, and he had enjoyed dismantling their hopes of having a chance. The looks on their faces had sent a shiver down the maniacal shinobi's spine.

"That is a scene I will need to describe to Orochimaru-sama…" He muttered to himself as he finished cleaning up his mess. He stacked the three bodies in a corner of the room and laid explosive notes around the body, primed to go off when a heat signature neared them. Kabuto chuckled again – he had refrained from using any expressed chakra, so if anyone did examine this room, it wouldn't be his chakra that was discovered.

For some reason, the fact that they had been on guard kept coming back to bother him. He pondered it as he drew out a match to ignite the explosive tags. Had they some kind of a sensor on the hall? Maybe he should have questioned them about it before he finished the last one off. He shrugged though, realizing that now, the point was moot. As he tossed the match over his shoulder, he heard the door creak open.

_**Chuunin Exam Center Proctor's Rec Room**_

Ibiki sank into one of the chairs and rubbed his forehead tiredly. After the barrier that Naruto had erected had fallen, the Grass kunoichi had come barreling out of the area she had been confined too like a hound on a blood trail. Her eyes had once again reminded the Torture and Interrogation Chief of someone he knew, but he couldn't quite place it. He looked up as the door opened silently to admit one of the main proctors for the second stage, Mitarashi Anko.

The scarred man waved his second in command over when he saw her looking around. The purple haired Jounin made her way around the bored proctors who were waiting for a team to announce that they were ready to give the mission information. She sat down on the arm of the chair and looked at her second mentor with her head tilted.

"Well?" Ibiki smiled blandly back at her, his blank face not giving her any hints as to how her favorite Gennin was doing. The two sat there for a long moment, staring at each other as the temperature around them dropped as Anko tried to glare Ibiki into giving up how Naruto was doing. Finally, his smile widened.

"A few of the Gennin are already eliminated from the competition, seems some of them just couldn't keep their information away from the enemy, and are now cooling their heels back in the main Center room. I haven't kept up with the most up to date names of who's been cut from the competition, but if you want I could check…" Riling Anko's feathers was one of the most entertaining past times that the T&I Chief had. Then she glared at him.

"SPILL!" Ibiki just stared at her in shock as her glare got worse. Finally he raised one hand up and pointed at her eyes.  
"Anko. Where the hell did you learn that snake eye trick that you use when you glare?" The comment was just as calm as his earlier teasing, but the corner of his left eye was twitching rapidly. The Snake Mistress spotted the one tell that the scarred Jounin had and grew worried.

"I learned it from the Snakes. Only Summoners can use it, why?" Ibiki shot to his feet.

"Orochimaru has a new apprentice! There's a girl in the exams who can do that same thing. I didn't put it together until just now but…" Anko was frozen, staring at the other man. Then she ground her teeth as she shook her head furiously. The older ninja saw a trace of fear in her eyes that was quickly squashed.

"Orochimaru might have had someone become his apprentice, but he hasn't had them sign the snake contract. The Snakes would have told me if that had happened. That isn't an apprentice running around… that's the Snake pedo himself." Unseen to either of them, a dark haired proctor slipped out of the room. The two immediately contacted the Hokage to warn him that his old student was back. From the Hokage's office, Anko headed to find her boyfriend to warn him to lay low until her old sensei had been apprehended.

_**Chuunin Exam Center Room 306**_

The Grass Gennin slipped into the room and stared at Kabuto. The silver haired teen jerked in surprise, his eyes widening as he stared at the kunoichi.

"You… what do you need?" His tone was jerky. He couldn't believe that this person was talking to him directly.

"Information. I don't feel like hunting around for it."

_**Despicable Author Style: Cliffhanger Technique!**_

_**AN:  
So, show of hands, how many people am I pissing off with where these cut off? And honestly ladies and gentlemen, I didn't mean for the first stage to take more than a chapter it just kind of…grew.**_

_**Ok, I want to clarify something. Alter is Naruto's physical shapeshift ability. He knows the true henge, and those who know he has both abilities distinguish between the two by terming the body modifier 'Alter'. So all the times that Alter has been used, think of it as what Naruto normally does in canon, while henge is what everyone else does. I don't know if I'll let Ronnel have the same ability, so for now he just uses the henge.**_

_**Next Chapter:  
End of the first stage of the Chuunin Exams, and an encounter between the past and the future.**_

_**  
Reader Reviews:**_

_**Dragon And Sword Master:**_

_**Kabuto's reckoning is about to coming soon. The change in the Exams also forced Orochimaru to take a more active role, which has lead to him being discovered. Now, that won't affect things over all, but it has people on better alert than before.**_

_**Naruto's training is going to show in the second and third stages, so patience grasshopper, patience. Now, Yugito is the winner of the poll, so you'll be seeing more of her here. I think I have another unique perspective on something, hope you enjoy it.**_

_**Umbra8191:**_

_**Here's the start!**_

_**Naginator:**_

_**XP I view Haku as a girl, so for me stories with her as a boy are the gender-benders. But thanks!**_

_**Firelordeg:**_

_**It allowed a bit sooner this time than some others ne?**_

_**Skysrpke:**_

_**It's not that well written out. I know it's still got plotholes in it, despite my best efforts. But thanks for the encouragement!**_

_**WHCnelson:**_

_**Read above, it's not that good lol. I know there are much better out there.**_

_**Kiyomos:**_

_**Very interesting**_

_**Celestial Indigo:**_

_**I have to admit, I think this is by far, the single most confusing review I have gotten to date. I keep rereading it, trying to figure out if it's a flame or not. I think it is, because of some of your words, but then the fact that you're waiting for the next chapter to come out implies that you like it. Anyway, I'll answer your concerns in order:**_

_**I had forgotten that I had the duckass already in the hall, so I've edited the last chapter to make up for that error.**_

_**2. The rest of the rookies are keeping their mouths shut – they saw what Kabuto did, only they stayed quiet. Lee didn't see Sasuke barge in like a fool, so no challenge there. **_

_**Sakura is a non entity until the third Exam. She'll make a reappearance there, so don't worry, pinky's not out yet.**_

_**Uhm…not happening in this fic, maybe if I write a Naru/Anko that'll happen.**_

_**I'm not even going to respond to this one, except to say that children's bones are good for toothpicks.**_

…_**I…HATE…THAT…SONG! –slams head into wall-**_

_**Ah, the gay-pedo dosage in this story, (nonexistent) is about to be removed from ever occurring –maniacal cackle- Anyway, if this **_IS_** a flame, well then… I ain't holdin' a .44 to your head, just hit the back key in your browser. **_

_**Nayami-chan:**_

_**-videotapes dance- That'll go on youtube. Here's another lol. Next update's up, hope it matches your tastes.**_

_**Katestar98:**_

_**Ah, person numbah 2 to hate my habit of cutting the story off lol. It's a ploy to get you all to review…ehehehehe…**_

_**Schnookums:**_

_**Hehehe! I checked on that one, haven't seen one where the sensei is the one to betray the plans. But the way I see it, any sensei that puts up with Gaara has GOT to be concerned about the welfare of the other two, thus, he's willing to take the fall to protect them. A Naru/Kabu showdown is brewing, keep your fingers crossed for the blonde kid!**_


	17. Chapter 16

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Danzo would be dead if I did. Hmm…. I should probably bring him into my story some time…**_

_**Anyway, on with the show!**_

_**Chapter 16 – End of Exam, Planning Begins!**_

**Last Time:**

**Chuunin Exam Center Room 306**

_The Grass Gennin slipped into the room and stared at Kabuto. The silver haired teen jerked in surprise, his eyes widening as he stared at the kunoichi. _

_ "You… what do you need?" His tone was jerky. He couldn't believe that this person was talking to him directly._

_ "Information. I don't feel like hunting around for it."_

_**Chuunin Exam Center Room 306**_

Kabuto stared at the other Gennin for a moment before nodding and dropping to one knee. From inside of his jacket he pulled out a thick folder, far thicker than what it should have been. The Grass Gennin took the folder as Kabuto started speaking.

"The information I've collected is in there my lord. It seems that Sasuke-kun has not activated his Sharingan yet, due to the interference of the Kyuubi Jinchuruuki. Hatake-san has not deemed Sasuke-kun ready for another high ranked mission, citing the need for training. Thus he has not been able to endure the life or death circumstances that the Sharingan needs to activate. The second file is information that I have managed to find on Uzumaki-Rei Naruto, with a corollary for his adoptive brother, Rei-Uzumaki Ronnel. From what I have found, both are formidable, but there simply isn't much written down about them." He looked up to see the Grass kunoichi pulling one page out, the sheet of information that the proctor had given him at the start. He watched in shock as the girl lifted the rest of the file up, and widened his eyes in disbelief when the folder, with all of the information he had collected, was shredded by wind.

"M-m-my lord??" He stepped back when the Kusanin looked up at him with eyes he did not recognize. The spy nearly screamed when the features of the girl began changing, not like the expected face-rip away that his lord used, but literal shifting and changing. The dark brown hair crackled and paled to a sunny blonde, and those pitch-black eyes lightened to a deep cerulean blue that was streaked with red. Three furrows appeared on each cheek and the canines lengthened.

"Treacherous bastard!" Naruto spat out as the Alter finished reverting. He dispelled the minor henge over his gear and grabbed his sword, spinning it around so that the actual bladed edge was out. He slipped the third file of information into a pouch as he spoke. "You've been playing us all for fools! I thought something was up back in the meeting hall when you had information that was restricted to the Hokage's eyes only, and this just proves me right! I'm going to show you what happens when someone betrays the Village Hidden in the Leaves!" The blonde haired boy crouched low and sprang forward, taking advantage of his opponent's shock to launch a sudden strike. His blade lashed out, biting deep into Kabuto's side. The silver-haired spy barely moved in time to avoid being split in two.

Naruto slammed his free hand into the ground and jerked himself around, kicking at the wound he had just caused. Kabuto had recovered enough at this time to catch the blonde Gennin's foot and toss him away. He brought up one hand and activated his chakra scalpels technique, intending on severing the younger boy's chakra coils.

The Jinchuruuki impacted on the wall, creating a small crater. He coughed as the force of the blow knocked the wind out of him, dazing him slightly. Cerulean eyes looked up in time to see faint lines extend from his opponent's hand as the silver haired shinobi began stalking towards him with malice in his eyes. The blonde boy thrust his sword into the rock and ran through a small chain of seals before grabbing his sword again. He looked back up in time to see Kabuto jumping forward across the last bit of distance.

_Fuuton: Daikamaitachi no Jutsu!_ A massive blade of wind leapt off from his sword as he jerked it around in between himself and Kabuto. The spy brought his arms up in a futile attempt to defend himself from the Wind Blade. He flew backwards towards the wall, and managed to spin around and break his flight by pouring chakra through his feet and sliding across the ceiling. His arms were now bleeding from the attack as he glared down at the boy.

"Who are you? Who are you really Uzumaki-Rei Naruto? No Gennin can use wordless jutsu!" Naruto smirked at the angry spy as he climbed out of the hole in the wall. He brought his arm up and pointed at the traitor.

"I am your judge, your jury, and your executioner. Your crime is betraying Konoha to Orochimaru no Hebi no Sannin, madman experimenter and the second most dangerous traitor to Konoha." His eyes darkened as the red streaks began flowing out and filling his eyes, dominating the blue. A twitch of his finger and the door slammed shut and the desks in the middle of the room that were still there were thrown against the walls. Kabuto felt a trickle of fear as the blood red eyes turned back to him.

"You are guilty. Your sentence is death." The boy gripped the hilt of his sword with both hands. "You are going to die by this blade Yakushi Kabuto. You will be the first to witness the first ability of this sword: _Kiba no Bakafuuinu!_" Wind shot forward from the tip of the sword, faster than Kabuto could track. Blood sprang from the sudden wound on his shoulder before the tiles that he was standing on shattered and he was sent plummeting to the ground. He landed heavily on his hands and knees.

_ Kuso! I can't believe I have to use my Kekkei Genkai against some Konoha brat!_ Kabuto kept up his heavy breathing as Naruto walked forward. The blonde boy couldn't see it as the spots where he had sliced the spy turned black before healing completely.

Naruto frowned slightly as he walked forward. This level of fighting wouldn't have been enough to put down a Chuunin, and yet Kabuto was down looking totally vanquished. He took a precaution and switched himself out for an Exploding Shadow Clone. The clone caught the blade and wrapped it in wind chakra as it stalked forward and brought the sword up over Kabuto's neck.

"Now die!" The clone brought the sword down in a swift chop. That was the moment Kabuto moved into action. The 'wounded' spy burst into motion, his healed arm swinging up and catching the hand holding the sword, arresting the swing. His other hand wrapped around the clone's throat and began squeezing. The silver haired teen bowled Naruto's clone over, pinning it to the ground.

"Drop the sword brat or it ends here and now." Kabuto grinned to himself. He had captured the blonde boy. Now if he could escape with his prisoner, his lord was sure to reward him for bringing him the Kyuubi Jinchuruuki. The clone kept its hand wrapped around the sword and struggled to raise it. The spy frowned and pressed down harder, wondering why the boy was still conscious when a normal person would have blacked out.

On the ceiling above Kabuto, Naruto finished the seals for his technique. He growled under his breath as his clone struggled. _Sorry bud…but this is going to hurt me just as much as it hurts you. __Fuuton: Kazegane: Stage Two_. Naruto thrust out his hand as his jutsu activated. The second half of the Wind Cannon attack ripped away from his arm, barreling towards the traitor. The silent mass of wind gave no warning as it crashed down into Kabuto's back, smashing his spine and flattening him on top of the clone. As the man gasped weakly, the clone activated its part in the final move. It smirked up at the panting male, despite the fact that it too had been crushed. The silver haired teen had only a moment to wonder at that, and how he had been struck from behind, when the clone exploded.

The explosion threw the teen into the air, his battered body twisting as he flew. The pain of having his spine crushed, and the subsequent explosion, kept him from focusing enough to use his Kekkei Genkai to heal. Above him, the blonde Jinchuruuki smirked. He might not be able to do this as well as Ronnel could, but he could do an approximation. He crouched and jumped towards the heavily wounded teen, wind wrapping around his leg.

"Uzumaki Taijutsu: Ping-Pong Endgame! Kaze Rendan!" Naruto brought his leg down in an axe kick, the wind wrapping around it sharpening his leg more than a normal blade. Kabuto had only a moment to feel fear flood his veins as the wind met his body. Seconds later, there were three thumps. Naruto stood up and moved shakily to Kabuto's upper torso. The spy was coughing up blood as more poured out from his lower torso, just above his stomach. Naruto's technique had bisected the man messily. Kabuto's guts spilled from his lower half which was laying a few feet from where his torso was. The bonde boy knelt down and pulled out a scroll and laid it against the spy's open wound.

"Sorry Kabuto, but you're going to suffer a while longer. Activate." The seal flared out into intense flames that seared the wound shut. While the teen was gasping in pain, Naruto retrieved his sword and sliced Kabuto's arms from his body and repeated the seal actions to seal the new wounds shut. As he wiped his blade off with an oiled cloth he had pulled out from a scroll, the blonde haired boy crouched in front of the silver haired teen.

"You made the mistake of underestimating me Kabuto. You, Gaara-kun, and the Gennin I impersonated here are the only threats to me in this place. I'm not some little Gennin, I'm Uzumaki-Rei Naruto, Apprentice to Rei-Uzumaki Ronnel, Hunter of the Blood God. You thought of me as another Gennin, and you paid for that. Maybe if you had kept whatever it was that healed you active, you would have stood a chance. But since you didn't take this seriously, you lost. Now, you're going to T&I, where they'll pull every little bit of information out of you that they can." He stood up and pulled out another scroll and laid it beside the now helpless spy. The blonde Gennin opened the scroll and traced the large seal on the center of the paper and grinned evilly.

"Just so you know… This is a modified version of the Demonic False Surroundings Technique. It's anchored on the room – anyone who looks in here will see an room filled with boxes with random useless junk. Only two people can see the truth, myself and the member of Torture and Interrogation who is keyed into the chakra matrix. And don't try overwhelming it either, this thing isn't fragile like the original jutsu, it's much, much sturdier. It's more of a drain on my chakra, and I can't activate it with handseals, but in circumstances like this, it works perfectly. Have fun waiting to be picked up." As Naruto stepped back, the illusion faded into view around Kabuto, who could now only see stacks of boxes with things he would never even consider as useful. He tried shouting out, but the sound didn't even reach his ears.

"Told you, the genjutsu is anchored on the room. You can't be seen or heard. Maybe someone could track your chakra, but with how much you lost when split in half, and with my chakra blanketing the room, they'd have to be a master at that skill to have a chance of finding you." The blonde Jinchuruuki's voice sounded from beside Kabuto, who rolled his head in that direction. All he could see were boxes.

To the blonde haired boy, the half of a man laying on the floor was writhing around slightly, as if trying to find the entrance. He shook his own head slightly, knowing that no matter where his defeated opponent looked, he would never find the exit. _He just has to wait for Anko-neechan to show up and pull his sorry ass out._ The Jinchuruuki shrugged once and slipped out of the room, intent on finding an Examiner so he could report his completion of the task. Once he had done that, he intended to hunt down Anko and let her know of the prisoner.

_**The Apartments**_

Ronnel looked up from the book he was reading as an obviously drunk Haku staggered into the building, tear tracks fresh on her cheeks. When he started to stand up and ask the ice wielding medic what was wrong, she waved him away and stumbled up the stairs. The dark haired Jounin listened at the foot of the stairs, but didn't hear any crying from the Chuunin's room. He frowned slightly, wondering what it was that had triggered the girl into depression.  
"Ah well, I'll wait until Naruto gets home, he can handle the girl better than I can." He shrugged once and turned his head back to his book. A few minutes passed when there was a loud clatter from the front room. Ronnel's eyes rose once more, this time to see his girlfriend burst into the Apartments. Her eyes were frantic with worry as they darted around the room, finally settling on Ronnel in his chair. She hurried over to him, pausing slightly only when she saw the book in his hand.

"Why on earth are you reading _that_?" The blunt question made the male Jounin laugh as he set his book aside and grinned at her. He stood up and pulled her into a hug, still grinning.

"What, would you rather have me reading the same crap that Kakashi does? Thanks, but I don't need Jiraiya-sama's writings to give me ideas on how to please my lady." Anko blushed slightly when Ronnel said this, before remembering why she had come here. She pushed away from him, leaving him a tad confused as she rushed around the room, piercing everything with a kunai she pulled from nowhere. He barely stopped her from stabbing his chair and his book, and finally had to grab both of her arms. The young man spun the purple haired Jounin around and stared into her eyes.

"Ko-chan, what the hell is wrong with you? You don't act like this!" He was slightly worried. The Anko he knew was never this terrified of anything that occurred, no matter what happened the Snake Mistress could always handle it without batting an eye. For her to be upset to this degree meant that something truly horrific was happening.

For a moment the woman in his arms just stood there, shaking with fear. In a sudden move, she wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder as her body shook with silent sobs. Ronnel rubbed her back in slow circles trying to figure out what it was that had frightened his girlfriend. No matter how many circumstances he thought of, he could only remember one where Anko had shown nearly this much fear. A frown slid across his face as he thought of that, but surely that wasn't what had set her off. The longer she cried, the more the shinobi was sure of what had happened. When the purple haired kunoichi finally pulled her head up and looked at him, all he was waiting on was confirmation of his suspicion.

"It-it's Oro-Orochi-Orochimaru…" Her words were interrupted by small sobs even as she spoke. "He's here." That was the confirmation that the Jounin was waiting for. He growled softly as he pulled Anko tighter against his chest, stroking her hair gently as he stared at the wall behind her. "Ron-Ronnel-kun, please…please find somewhere safe…" The sobs had lessened now, but she was still obviously upset and frightened. She looked up at him, her eyes pleading.

"Ko-chan. I told you when we started dating, no pedo-homophile is going to scare me away. It'll take a lot more than him to make me afraid." His words were firm and certain as he turned his gaze down to meet hers. "I've tangled with S-ranks before. Few of them are multitaskers, if I remember the Bingo Book correctly, his strength lies with his summons and snake based jutsu correct?" At her hesitant nod, he grinned evilly. "Then everything is alright. Him, I can _at least_ get away from, if not hold him until back up arrives." The shinobi scooped the kunoichi up into his arms, lifting her from the ground in a bridal carry. As she clutched at his shirt as if afraid he would vanish if she let go, Ronnel climbed up the stairs slowly, his feet padding across the carpet.

It took a few minutes, but he eventually reached the floor that he and Anko stayed on. Outside of her room, he paused and looked at it with one eye on the woman in his arms. He sighed deeply, knowing that if he put her in there, she would likely freak out and go searching for him. With what he had in mind, he needed her tucked in bed asleep, not tearing through the village hunting for him. The former Hot Springs ninja turned on his heel and pushed open the door to his rooms with a foot and entered.

Ronnel stepped past the piles of books and scrolls that lay on the floor, some open and half-read, with more laying still sealed. He grumbled to himself as he realized that he would have to clean up in here if he ever wanted to bring Anko in when she was in a better frame of mind. Shaking off that thought for now, he shouldered open to door to his bedroom and moved inside. He laid his girlfriend down on the futon and gently disengaged her hand from his shirt. With a soft smile and a kiss to her forehead, he pulled the blanket up over her and grabbed the extra pillow that normally lay off to one side. When she went to grab him, her eyes still shut from crying, he moved the pillow into her grasp. She settled back into the bed, holding the pillow tight.

The Jounin ran a hand through his hair as he looked down at Anko. _*Kami, she's really wound up over this, to pass out so suddenly.*_ He sighed softly again and stroked a strand of purple hair that had fallen across her cheek aside and tucked it behind her ear. Leaning down, he kissed her cheek lightly before straightening up with a dark look in his eyes. He moved silently out of the room to the cupboard where he stored his gear. As he pulled his equipment on, he looked back towards the bedroom where his better half lay sleeping. He clicked the claymore and longsword into their sheathes and nodded to himself.

"I'm sorry Ko-chan, but you need to be safe for this. I'll see it through to the end though." With those words, the shinobi slipped from the rooms. He paused down on the floor Haku and Naruto shared, long enough to look in at the mednin. She was laying curled on her side on the couch in the room. The shinobi breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that she had already gathered what she would need when she woke up with a hangover. He nodded again to himself and headed downstairs.

In the main room, he focused himself and created a Shadow Clone. Wincing at the drain on his reserves he nodded to the copy. "You know what to do." The Bunshin nodded back and went to the chair and pulled up the book that he had been reading when Anko arrived. Ronnel looked back towards the stairs once, before heading out of the building and towards the Hokage's Tower.

_**Chuunin Exam Center – Proctor's Hall**_

Naruto stood outside the Proctors' hall, watching for two different groups. He had already looked inside and seen everyone from Konoha except for the other Gennin who was running this alone, and that one he didn't really care about. No, he was watching out for two foreign groups. The sound of three sets of footsteps made the blonde boy's ears perk up. He slid onto the ceiling in case It wasn't someone he was waiting for.

"Yugito-sama, I'm telling you, the boy can't have made it far! To activate a barrier seal like the one he used on that strange kunoichi would drain any Kumo Gennin but yourself. So he's probably lying on his side in a classroom somewhere, and we just missed seeing him." A female voice came down the hallway from around the corner. A male voice grunted in confirmation. Naruto grinned at the voice that spoke.

"And _I'm _telling _you_, there's no way someone that the Niibi no Bakaneko was surprised to see would pass out from merely using a barrier seal!" The Kumo Jinchuruuki's voice came mere seconds in front of her – just after she spoke, the Kumo squad came around the corner. The words also let Naruto know that despite the fact that he had let _her_ know that he too was a Jinchuruuki, she had not shared that information with her squad. He pondered what that meant until the arguing group was below him.

With a sly grin, Naruto released the flow of chakra that was keeping him attached to the ceiling. He dropped to the ground silently, his knees flexing and carrying him into a crouch. He pulled a kunai out from the seal case on his hip and slid forward, pulling the girl's hair and tilting her head back far enough that her throat was exposed. He pressed the dull side of the kunai against the girl's throat as he spoke.

"You really should listen to Yugito-san. A barrier seal like that wouldn't even slow me down, much less knock me out." He tapped the kunai once then slid it back into its storage seal. He stepped up beside Yugito, who by now was staring at him incredulously. _Kyuubi…did you suppress my presence?_

_**I did. I wanted you to….get the drop on Niibi-chan.**_

_Baka Kitsune._ Shaking his head mentally, the Konoha Jinchuruuki grinned at his Kumo counterpart. "Ne, Yugito-san. Do you guys have all the information you need?" The beaming smile he sent at the girl unsettled her. When she managed to nod, the blonde boy sighed.  
"Alright then, I guess you can just head inside. Be careful though, except for a group from Iwa, you'll be alone with Konoha nin." Naruto leaned against the wall, jerking his chin towards the double doors behind him. The group from Kumo watched him warily as they moved past him, only taking their eyes away from him once they were through the doors and in the chamber. The male Jinchuruuki just sank down to where he was sitting on the ground and began spinning the air in front of him, making miniature dust devils form. He slowly brought them together as he waited there in the hall.

Nearly twenty minutes later, he heard the people he was waiting on. They were talking in low enough voices that he couldn't hear what was being said. The blonde Jinchuruuki dispelled the wind that he was controlling and stood up, easing the kinks out of his neck. As he straightened up completely the Sand team turned the final corner.

"Finally you guys get here! Come on, I've been waiting for you." He grabbed Temari and Gaara's hands, the two people looking at him blankly for a second before nodding and following after him. Kankuro stared after them for a long moment before sighing and walking through the double doors behind them.

Once inside, Naruto guided the Sand squad over to his friends who were already in the chamber. Temari sat down next Hinata and smiled weakly at the bluenette. The Hyuuga smiled back at her gently as Kankuro and Naruto walked up to the Proctor in charge of the information judging. As they went up, they passed the blonde girl from Kumo who was going back to her team. The two blondes nodded at each other as they went their separate directions.

The man took the information packet from Kankuro and raised his eyebrow slightly. He tilted his eyes to Naruto, a silent query. The Puppeteer shook his head negatively before heading back to his team. The proctor turned his attention to Naruto who smiled brightly.

"Do you have a blank mission info sheet?" The man stared at him, his gaze curious as he bent down slightly and pulled out a fresh info sheet. He watched as the Jinchuruuki took the information sheet and began filling in the details. "It's easier to keep my information safe if no one can steal it from me. So I got rid of the information sheets I acquired." The older shinobi nodded to himself, agreeing with Naruto's decision. _*That'll help him later on when he's being judged. Destroying mission sheets is something that everyone is supposed to do, but we ignored it for this mission. Wonder where he picked that up.*_ He took the sheet from Naruto and scanned down it, before looking back up.

"Everything is in order. You're free to wait here until the last of the teams is in."

"Uhm, can I leave? I need to report something to the Second in Command of Torture and Interrogation." He received and incredulous look, but the blonde boy kept his gaze steady as he stared back at the proctor. After a minute of staring, the man nodded. The blonde boy grinned and bowed from his waist before heading over to the others. He pulled Hinata into a hug and did the same to Temari, once more not noticing the deep blush that spread across her cheeks. He grinned at the others.

"Sorry guys but something came up while I was searching for intel. I've gotta deal with what happened so I'll see you around the village." Shikamaru grunted, barely lifting his head from his chest. Kiba looked up at sighed, shaking his head once.

"Geez Naruto, you're always running off. Did you at least pass?" Naruto nodded, making the other Konoha ninja grin.

"Before I go, has anyone seen the duckass?" Red streaked blue eyes flitted across the group, taking in the negative nods. A deep sigh escaped his lips as he shook his own head. _*Well, I'll just have to check out that scythe he has later then. I doubt it's one of _Them_, but it's better to be safe than sorry.*_ With another quick hug to his 'imouto', the blonde Jinchuruuki slipped out of the room. He didn't notice the two pairs of foreign eyes that followed him as he went, but Hinata did catch the fact that the girl sitting next to her wasn't paying attention to what they were saying. She grinned slightly, plots developing in her mind.

_**Office of the Sandaime Hokage**_

Sarutobi rubbed his eyes wearily as he considered what Ibiki had told him. While he didn't completely believe that his treacherous student had returned to the village, it would be better for them if they prepared for it rather than just sat around and waited. He frowned, once more regretting his decision not to deal with the problem all those years ago. If he had just killed Orochimaru when he had the chance in that dank little cell, then so much grief that had fallen upon them would never have happened.

Both men looked up as a dark haired man with two swords slipped into the room quietly. Ronnel paused only for a moment when he saw the Chief of Torture and Interrogation standing in front of the Hokage's desk. He bowed his head to the older Jounin then dipped into a deeper bow to Hiruzen. When he straightened up he looked over to Ibiki.

" I take it you're here for the same reason I am. The Snake." A dark look crossed the newer Jounin's face. The torture specialist nodded.

"Gather the Jounin and ANBU Ibiki. Give them enough information for them to start getting to full combat readiness." The scarred man nodded and bowed before striding out of the office to begin gathering the men. "Ronnel-kun? Why did you not go to aid him?" Sarutobi turned a curious eye on Ronnel who rubbed the back of his head and sighed.

"Anko is of the belief that her former teacher will target me because of our relationship. I think he'll go after her. I'd like to ask if you'd be willing to put a guard detail on her." The Sandaime considered the request for a long moment, then nodded. "And in case she's right, I'd like someone who can sense chakra to hang back and watch mine. I want to try laying setting a trap for him, with myself as bait. If we have someone who is on-guard, keeping an eye on my chakra signature for if it goes elevated, then we have a chance of capturing the man off guard." Sarutobi stared at him before responding.

"And why don't we set the same trap up with Anko as bait?"

"Because even though she hates him vehemently, she knows him the best. If she thinks he'll target me, then chances are high that he will. And having Ko-chan as bait would not be wise – the seal on her shoulder means that the bastard can incapacitate her whenever he wants. If we have someone hanging back like with me, then we may not make it in time to prevent him from injuring her or escaping. I have no such handicap, so I can hold him off for a brief time by myself, enough for reinforcements to arrive on the scene. This is our best chance to catch him before he sets off whatever it is that brought him here. And I know he has something else planned, for no one of his caliber would risk returning her simply to ensure that Anko stays lost and alone. No, he has a second objective, and I would wager it has to do with the old goal of his to learn all of the world's jutsu."

Hiruzen rubbed his forehead again, a new migraine forming at his temples. He sat back into his seat and pondered the options that his Jounin had laid before him. While they weren't ideal, the aging leader could tell that they were likely the best course that was available. He had sacrificed the 'ideal' path when he let the Snake Sannin escape that night. He lifted his head slightly and looked at Ronnel dead in the eyes. The Jounin's eyes were hard as he stared back, determination written across his features. The Hokage realized that the younger shinobi would make himself bait, whether or not someone was watching his chakra in order to help. With another sigh, the leader stood up and looked out the window across his village.

"Very well. I'll send an alert out to Jiraiya so he can return in case this plan fails. Be on your guard my young friend, the Snake, as you pointed out last time we met, sheds his skin as easily as his summons. He could strike at any moment, from any guise. This is likely your most dangerous assignment that hasn't dealt with one of the Cult. This is now an A-rank mission, and will rank up to S if Orochimaru does attack. If reinforcements do not arrive within ten minutes, view yourself as cut off, and retreat. Understood?"

Ronnel snapped to attention. He nodded once, sharply to the older man. The Sandaime seemed to deflate in on himself as he turned around again.

"Ronnel, I'm sorry that this task, of flushing my wayward student, falls to you. I should have dealt with it when I had the chance. It would have saved us all a lot of grief."

"Acutally Hokage-sama, in a strange way, I'm glad that things happened like they did." Sarutobi looked at him, his eyes curious. "If Orochimaru hadn't turned traitor, Anko wouldn't have been associated with that, and would have been a lot more tantalizing in the eyes of the other shinobi. And then, where would I be? Without her, or without Naruto….. I'm not sure I could have stayed in this village. Naruto saved me from my wandering, and Anko saved me from a loneliness that my otouto, no matter how amazing he is, could never hope to rescue me from." He sighed and rubbed his face wearily. "Anyway, with your permission, I'd like to go home." Sarutobi nodded and waved his hand to the door as he considered Ronnel's words. He realized that it was true – things from Orochimaru's betrayal had been beneficial, even if what engendered them was horrendous.

The Jounin left the room quietly, leaving his leader to his thoughts as he stared out across the quieting village.

_**The Apartments**_

Anko sat in Ronnel's favorite chair, twirling a kunai between her fingers. Naruto had woken her up several minutes ago, and she had already retrieved the traitor from the empty room. If Naruto hadn't told her of the genjutsu on the room, she would have been confused as to why no one had already found the nearly dead man. As it was, she had taken him to the Torture and Interrogation chambers and handed him over to the emergency medics, with explicit orders not to restore his limbs or lower half. Now, she was waiting for her boyfriend to return home.

The door creaked open and her eyes shot up. She watched without saying anything as Ronnel locked the door firmly behind him and activated the recognition seal. She raised her eyebrow at that, before remembering that their guests had the counter seal that would allow them in. The purple haired woman continued watching as Ronnel slid his equipment off and leaned it against the wall next to the door. Once he had it all off, she stabbed the kunai into the armrest and threw herself at him.

The shinobi looked up in time to see a purple tipped mass flying towards him. He caught the woman in his arms. And lifted her up so she was standing on her own two feet.

"Relax Ko-chan. There are safe-guards in place now. I've talked to Sarutobi, and precautions have been taken." The male Jounin kept quiet about just what those precautions were, not wanting to upset her more than she was. "So tell me, has Otouto returned?" Glad for the topic change, Anko nodded.

"He passed too. Naruto's through the first stage totally, and now has a week to prepare for the second stage. He knows what he needs, so he's ok on that front. But he knows to ask if he needs any help. And he did mention wanting to practice something with you." Ronnel raised an eyebrow. "But that can wait. For now, you owe me snuggles." And with that, the woman grabbed her boyfriend's collar and dragged him up the stairs to his room.

_**And End!**_

_**I hope everyone's enjoyed the first stage of the Exam, it lasted a lot longer than I thought it would. Currently, Naruto is on his way to gaining a Lightning affinity, so if you don't want that, you'd better vote! The deviations from the cannon continue, though the final stage will be very similar to canon's.**_

_**Review Response:**_

_**Umbra8191 & fanficreader71:**_

_**Next chapter up, largest to date!**_

_**Unseenhopaku:**_

_**Hhahaha, yes, yes she is. She's the final member to join it unless I get a lot of requests for someone else. I doubt that will happen, so Naruto's going to be happy with three.**_

_**Naginator:**_

_**Glad you like how it's working out. Temari might seem a bit timid right now, but that's nerves from planning to betray the village of the guy she likes. Now that that's settled, she's going to get more feisty.**_

_**Cycoempress:**_

_**Hehehe. This one isn't such a nasty cliffie. I tried ending it at a more soothing spot than typical.**_

_**Firelordeg:**_

_**This one took a bit longer to get out, but it is a bit larger too. Hope you enjoy it!**_

_**Nayami-chan:**_

_**This one might not be as good, I'm not used to fight scenes so this might not be as good. Sorry to hear that you're sick, hoping you're better now!**_

_**Blackhammer:**_

_**Ah, skipping portions. The power of reading something rather than living it hehehe.**_

_**Crazyazian:**_

_**Here it is, Naruto's beatdown of Kabuto! But it won't be Naruto who tangles with the Snake fag.**_

_**JPElles:**_

_**Baki's nervousness was largely because he knew that if he made one misstep, he'd be killed as a traitor. When you're surrounded by potential enemies, most of whom would kill you if they found out what was being planned, you're going to be nervous. And Ronnel's anger came from the fact that he is VERY protective of his younger brother – both because that is who he is, and because of the seal. He gets a little irrational when someone is trying to hurt Naruto and he knows about it.**_

_**And as to the genjutsu front – I'm keeping that toned down until Naruto starts going all out. Most ninja only focus on one or two aspects, and Naruto has already shown that he is pretty good with weapons and ninjutsu. Other abilities, such as genjutsu (which does make an appearance in this chapter) and fuuinjutsu (also here, and in a few other places) are less of a general skill like weapons and basic ninjutsu, and more specialized. But don't worry, Naruto will start showing more than that throughout the Chuunin Exams and after it.**_

_**Celestial Indigo:**_

_**That does explain a bit, alrighty! And most everything in the world is that way isn't it… the good mixed with the bad. –shrugs- life, I suppose.**_

_**Aye, I would have had them learning about it before hand if they could, but timing worked out so Baki told them just before. And yes, I kinda froze on the emo-trip, probably because Anko isn't really the comforting type, and Naruto wasn't there to help her. We see a bit of sad Haku in this chapter, but much less noticeable.**_

_**Dragon and Sword Master:**_

_**Kabuto's smackdown is done with! Hope you enjoyed the little arse-sucker getting stomped. And don't fret too much, I'm happy that Yugito won. She's an underused character in canon, and I hope I do her justice.**_

_**And as far as Orochimaru goes…. Not too much will happen in the plans, remember the dark haired proctor who slipped out of the room last chapter to figure out why. No one ever said Kabuto was Roachy-chan's only spy.**_

_**Schnookums:**_

_**Thanks, glad you're enjoying the face-offs. Not much is going to happen to Orochimaru personally, at least not until he goes after Anko's happiness. The invasion will change mostly because Baki's sent word back of what happened, so Sand won't be participating at the last moment, and we know for certain that Konoha is now on guard against it happening!**_

_**No I'm not on Facebook & the-wandering-scribe:**_

_**Glad you guys like it, and I'm very glad to know that it's better than you expected Scribe-san! Hope I keep it up with this chapter!**_

_**James Lutol: (Alright, I'm handling your responses by chapter:**_

_**Chapter 6: I'm a bit iffy on location description, but I am always watchful of how much dialogue I use. I know it's a problem in the early chapters, hopefully not so much later on.**_

_**Chapter 7: Naruto does know a bit about torture, but I'd rather not have gone into gory gimmicks off the bat. I'm trying to keep the chapters within one day now, and it seems to be working. And as for jutsu – not as much as in the guilds sadly, no way a canon Naruto, or even this one, can learn THAT fast.**_

_**Chapter 8: Interesting, I got praise and flame for beating down on the Pinky, hope you like what'll happen to her later on. And as for Sasuke pissing himself well, that was pure comic relief. That, and Kakashi didn't get to reassure him as much as in canon so…. Kakashi-bashing is on the decline, though it'll happen a few more times.**_

_**Chapter 9: Don't worry none, these Samurai were lame on purpose. Any samurai worth his honor wouldn't work for Gato, so only the dregs would. And it shows. Samurai will show up later, and much, much more powerful. I know the end was simple, but relax, they'll be returning to Wave soon actually, a short while after the Exams in fact.**_

_**Chapter 11: Not everything is all action sadly. And you pretty much guessed my reasoning behind this chapter.**_

_**Chapter 13: If you want to write an omake, or even a short story, based on this same concept, go right ahead! Send me a link to it and I'll put it up on my profile. And now that the Exams are in effect, things will be getting a bit more gruesome.**_

_**Chapter 14: Keep on reading my friend, again, not everything is blood pumping action. And don't worry, there will be more opportunities for cookies.**_

_**Chapter 15: I'm glad so many people like the fact that the Exams have begun.**_

_**Chapter 16: Ahh, more Kabuto you have! Sasuke won't play a major role until the second stage, maybe even third. I'm trying to decide whether or not to let Naruto know about the scythe that the duckass has. Anyway, if you haven't already, head over and vote! Though I think you have ehehe. (P.S. Try to get more people to read my story! I thrive on reviews lol)**_

_**  
That goes to everyone!  
Oh yea, lest I forget:**_

_**Kiba no Bakafuuino: Fang of the Monstrous Wind Dog. It's a powerful wind strike that launches in the direction that Naruto thrusts his sword. It's only the first ability, so expect better ones later on ladies and gentlemen!**_

_**Also, our favorite blonde has yet to show his most powerful wind technique – and considering he's used a spell that basically brings the Kyuubi back as a wind fox, just how powerful do you guys think this one will be? And it's not an assassination technique – it's sheer, brute force, area destruction. Think about it! **_

_**G.T. signing out! Ja ne!**_


	18. Chapter 17

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. That privilege is Kishimoto. All I own are my unique techniques and Ronnel. Now, this chapter is slower paced, no fighting to be seen.**_

_**Chapter 17: A Week's Reprieve!**_

Naruto yawned as he sat up and looked around. After he had seen Anko leave to retrieve Kabuto from the genjutsu'd room, the blonde boy had collapsed on his bed, barely having time to pull off his boots before passing out cold. He sighed as he looked down at his wrinkled clothes that were stained with the traitor's blood, then ran a hand through his blonde hair, wincing when he felt a clump in it.

"Definitely time for a shower." The Chuunin hopeful stood up and stretched out his muscles, groaning as they protested the abuse. He ignored them, planning on soothing them with a hot shower. He rummaged around in his closet and brought out a set of plain black underclothes and grinned slightly. It would be nice to wear something other than his usual. He looked through the rest of his closer for a moment before deciding to pick something out after his shower. A course of action decided, the boy headed for the bathroom.

After a shower that lasted nearly an hour and had completely steamed everything in the room, Naruto was toweling off his hair when the door creaked open. The startled boy barely had time to drop his towel over his privates before the person who had opened the door came in. Naruto watched as Haku's pale skin flushed from the base of her neck up to the roots of her hair as she stared at him. For a long moment, the teens stared at each other before the ice-wielding medic slowly backed out of the room and closed the door firmly. Listening, Naruto thought he heard a quick rush of feet followed by a door slamming.

Shaking his head, he finished drying off and pulled on his undergarments. He wiped off the mirror and flexed in front of the mirror, deciding that whatever he wore over it, he wanted to show the black shirt. That was when he noticed that his own skin was a light red. His eyes widened when he realized that Haku hadn't been the only one to blush. He rubbed his cheek and shook his head again before walking out of the bathroom. For a second, the blonde Jinchuruuki almost swore that there was a trail of blood droplets leading from outside the bathroom to Haku's room. With a chuckle, the teenage boy headed back into his room.

From the closet Naruto finally began choosing a new outfit. He grabbed his black fingerless gloves and tightened them down, grinning slightly as he did so. Next came silvered trousers coated in pockets, with what looked to be slots made specifically for kunai and shuriken just under the belt line. Around his waist went a dark red belt with hidden senbon inserted just behind the buckle. Then came a light jacket, dark brown in color, that the blonde Jinchuruuki purposefully left open as he turned to look at the reflection in his mirror. He tapped his chin in thought, something besides his weapons was still missing. He snapped his fingers before heading over to his bed and pulling on the black combat boots. Staring at his reflection once more, the blonde shinobi still felt something was still missing. At a loss for what do to, he shrugged and grabbed his sword and staff and slung them in their respective sheaths across his waist and back.

Snatching his gear scrolls in one hand, the Gennin headed down stairs to see what his brother had cooked up. As he went past Haku's room, the boy chuckled again at the fact that he could still feel her just inside the room. He declined the opportunity of teasing her in favor of finding out whatever it was that was filling his nose so deliciously.

Once downstairs, the boy laid his gear beside the table and looked around. He saw that Ronnel was leaning against the cooking counter, apparently half asleep as he fumbled his way through making breakfast. Before the blonde boy could ask anything, his adoptive brother glared at him, causing the young teen to snap his jaw shut. The Jounin turned his attention back to the stovetop as he grilled something that smelled fantastic to Naruto.

"Naruto, why don't you go up and get Haku? Anko isn't coming down to breakfast today, so we're just waiting on her. Oh… and see if the Sand team is back. If they are…bring them down too." Naruto blushed, something that Ronnel missed since his back was to the younger shinobi. He turned and headed upstairs, stopping to check on the Suna squad since they were on a lower floor.

When he knocked, Gaara and Kankuro came out of their rooms, rubbing their eyes blearily. The blonde boy smiled at them and tilted his head downstairs. The other two Gennin stumbled down out of Naruto's sight as he turned to Baki's door. The Jounin pulled open the door before Naruto's hand could hit it, making the blonde male blink. Another tilt of his head, and the Jounin followed his students, albeit at a much smoother pace.

Then he came to the last door. Temari lay asleep on her bed, unnoticing of the knocks on her door. Outside, Naruto growled and shook his head. He was now being kept from food. The shinobi lifted one hand and pushed wind into the lock, forcing it open. He shoved the door open and pushed in, only to stop and stare as he realized something _very_ important. Immediately he backpedaled from the room, a furious blush on his cheeks.

_**Oh now that was very nice. Why don't you go back in and get a second look?**_

_ Urusai Ero-Kitsune. How was I supposed to know that Temari-chan…that she…_

_**That she sleeps in the nude? Kit, this day seems ripe for you people seeing each other in less than full dress. First the medic girl saw you fresh out of the shower and now you're peeping on the Sand girl. Come on, you need to get with one of them! I'm going out of my mind in here with nothing to do!**_

_ I said _**SHUT UP**_! _Naruto felt the Kyuubi pull its consciousness back, still laughing to himself as he went. The Jinchuruuki rubbed his whisker marked cheek nervously before shouting from the doorway to the girl sleeping on the bed within.

"Eto, Temari-chan, time to get up!" With that, the blonde boy pulled the door shut and scurried upstairs to get Haku, hoping that she had recovered from the mess up in the bathroom. She had, but unfortunately for the two of them, Haku chose the moment when Naruto was running up the stairs to exit her room and start heading down.

The hurrying boy and the still slightly shocked girl ran into each other on the stairway. Haku was moving down just as Naruto's right foot left the step it was on, and sadly, his left foot was barely on the edge of the step it was on. Their foreheads connected, dazing the two of them and starting the fall. The two of them tumbled down the stairs and landed in a sprawling mass of limbs right outside Temari's door.

The blonde haired girl opened the door and poked her head at, keeping the rest of her body hidden. She had pulled on a yukata, but would rather not have the boy she was developing feelings for see her in that skimpy attire. She looked around, trying to find the source of the thumping that she had heard. When the Wind Mistress looked down, she did a double take at the sight that greeted her.

Naruto was upside down and pressed against the wall, his eyes still glazed over from the headbutt. Haku though, was sprawled out on the ground, with one leg on either side of Naruto's dazed expression. The Ice wielder pulled herself upright, not knowing that there was now another person watching her. She rubbed her head and groaned before glaring at the stairs behind her. She looked back towards Naruto, intending to check on him. Her eyes returned the Jinchuruuki in time to see him falling away from the wall.

His foot was falling towards the dark haired medic. She hadn't reacted in time to stop herself from getting hit on the head, but someone else had.

"Sheesh. I thought you two were getting up to something ecchi out here, but instead, you're both a pair of klutzes." Haku looked up to see Temari standing in the nearby doorway, chuckling to herself as she held Naruto's leg. She tilted her hand so that the boy fell to the side. He lay there for a few moments, Temari laughing and Haku blushing, before he regained his senses.

"Itaiiiiiii…." He whined as he sat up and looked around. He blinked when he saw Haku, and blushed when he saw Temari. The fact that he blushed at the sight of the fan wielder and not her, the one who had seen him nearly naked, upset the girl, but thankfully she was no longer drunk so she wasn't going to bawl about it. Instead she stood up and brushed herself off and nodded curtly to Temari, who was now confused.

"What did I do to her?" She looked after Haku who was storming down the stairs before shrugging. "Come on blondie, you said food was ready." Then she remembered her attire. "On second thought, you go on ahead and I'll catch up." Naruto happily complied, hoping to avoid having the short tempered wind mistress realize just how much of her he had seen.

_**Downstairs**_

Ronnel rolled his shoulders, trying to ease some of the tension that had settled in overnight. Anko hadn't calmed down despite his best efforts, and had instead fretted and darted around nervously until the shinobi had finally grabbed her and pinched a pressure point on her neck. That was what this breakfast was for – the purple haired woman's favorite breakfast foods, in an attempt to pacify her so she didn't hurt him for making her sleep.

The Jounin looked up as Gaara and Kankuro came down the stairs, quietly talking about something. He saw Kankuro swipe at his eyes half-heartedly, like he was still trying to clear them from sleep. He jerked his head at the table, indicating they should sit down. All three of them looked up as there was a stumbling above them before they heard Naruto's voice calling out to Temari to wake her up.

The oldest male looked back at the other two Sand Siblings in time to see that the puppetmaster was laughing about something. He saw the sword wielder's interest and waved his hand, indicating he would explain later.

Baki came down the stairs, composed, though one of his eyebrows was arched, his tell for being amused. He caught Kankuro's inquisitive look and nodded, which set the middle Sabaku child off into another fit of laughter. Gaara and Ronnel looked at each other and shrugged, unaware of whatever it was that had the other two so amused.

All four shinobi snapped their heads towards the ceiling when a series of thumps sounded, then a pause, then a slam. All was quiet upstairs, until Haku came striding down the stairs, a dark look in her eye that Ronnel and Baki recognized as the look of a jilted girl.

_ Uh oh. Otouto screwed up again, and I doubt he even is aware of it….. how often did that use to happen to me?_ The Konoha Jounin shook himself before he got lost in his memories of before the massacre of his village, instead choosing to focus on the here and now, on the young lady who was currently hogging the blankets on his bed after having forced him onto the couch. _Of course…. I am the one who knocked her out and who put her on the bed in the first place…_ He rubbed the back of his head and looked back up as Naruto came down the stairs.

The blonde Jinchuruuki was completely oblivious to the dark look that he received from the medical kunoichi, and plopped down next to her. Once he had sat down, Haku looked at the seats and smirked at something before shaking her head and looking down at the table. The Leaf Jounin blinked at this and studied the two for a moment before sighing and going back to cooking.

A few minutes later, as Ronnel was laying a platter of sizzling hot bacon on the table, Temari came down the stairs. She plopped down next to her middle brother who was trying not to stare at the bacon that was in front of him. The blonde girl did a mental countdown, and sure enough, Naruto, Kankuro, and Gaara reached for the bacon platter at the same time. And like always, without looking, Ronnel smacked the tongs down on their hands, chasing them back.

Naruto shook his stinging hand and glared at his brother's back. The older male was busy making something, and if he was right about what was being made, then his adoptive older brother had screwed up with Anko. And just as he thought of her, said Snake Mistress came down the stairs, fury written on her features.

The woman stomped over to her boyfriend and drew herself up to her full height, opening her mouth to berate him. Without missing a beat, Ronnel flipped something out of the stove and placed it in her mouth. The purple haired woman blinked and chewed, then glared at him over the food, mollified. Naruto began laughing.

_Egg toast, oh yeah he did something._

_**What?**_

___Egg toast is Anko-neechan's favorite food, save for dango. But aniki doesn't really like it, told me it brings up memories of someone he lost when Hidan-teme betrayed the village. So, the only times he makes it is when he wants to pacify Neechan. _

_**I see. Why doesn't he just get her something shiny?**_

_ Uhm….because the only shiny things that Neechan likes are pointy, and giving Aneue something sharp when she's angry at you is _NOT_ a good thing._

While the discussion between Jinchuruuki and Kitsune was going on, Anko was sitting down at her normal seat as Ronnel pulled the rest of the egg toast off of the stove.

_**Later that day**_

Everyone was lazing around, taking a break between training sessions. Anko and Ronnel were sitting on a bench in the local park, watching as Naruto and Temari play a game where they used their Wind Manipulation to keep a ball up in the air between them, each trying to force the ball closer to the other person. With a grin, Naruto stabbed his staff forward towards the ball, causing it to shoot over Temari's head. The gust of wind that shoved the ball also blew the loose strands of the blonde girl's hair back and caused her to blink suddenly.

The ball shot back towards Naruto, making everyone who was watching blink until they saw the pad of sand underneath it. Leaning against a tree behind Temari by nearly a dozen paces was Gaara, the corner of his mouth quirked upwards slightly as he joined the game. The Jinchuruuki moved forward and stood by his sister, his eyes intent.

At the last moment, before the ball shot past the stunned Naruto, it suddenly jerked forward and flew back at the blonde girl and the redhead Demon Container. Kankuro stepped forward, a smile evident on his face. The lines were drawn and the two Fuuton wielders, the Sand master, and the Puppeteer joined battle, with the blondes playing the majority of the game, while their teammates were a last line of defense in case the ball got past the blonde.

Sitting on the bench, Ronnel and Anko chuckled at this. They had herded the kids to the park so they could keep an eye on them all while Baki was discussing the plans that had been made with Sarutobi and the ninja council. The two Jounin hadn't expected this impromptu game to start, but it kept them occupied and out of trouble.

"Ko-chan, relax. You got a traitor, and the information from him helped fill out what the Sound forces would do in the attack. Think of this – we know it's coming, so even if Roachy-teme changes his plans because his spy got caught, we're prepared." The shinobi looked away from the game that was being played – Temari and Gaara were winning by a point – to gaze at the purple haired beauty beside him. She sighed and nodded.

"I'm still worried that he's going to try something with you Ron-kun. He has always found some way to punish anyone who got close to me…. only Nai-chan has escaped his attentions, and that's because Asuma is always with her." She shuddered softly, still upset about the fact that her treacherous teacher was around where her boyfriend was. An arm wrapped around her shoulder and she looked up to see Ronnel smiling at her.

"Time and again I've told you anata. Orochimaru no Densetsu Sannin does not frighten me." He nodded to her and looked up as Naruto groaned loudly. Temari was dancing in place and Gaara's smirk had widened imperceptibly. Combined with Naruto's groan, it was easy to see that the blonde and her brother had scored another point. There was a brief shuffle and the ball came back into play. Suddenly Kankuro smirked and flung the ball directly at Gaara's side. The redhead reacted instinctively, bringing up his wall of sand. The ball had moved fast enough that by the time the shield came up, it was beside the sand. With Gaara's sand shield up, he couldn't see the ball speed past him.

Temari glared angrily at her brother as she went and retrieved the ball. She looked over as Ronnel stood up and clapped, catching the group's attention. The Jounin strode out between them and looked back and forth.

"Alright, who is in the lead right now?" Gaara and Temaro's hands rose. The older male nodded and clapped their shoulders. "You'll have a rematch some other time. Naruto, look up and tell me why." The blonde Jinchuruuki turned his gaze upwards and blinked. The sun was past its zenith, and the boy smacked his forehead.

"It's time to go meet with the other teams to for war planning." The Sand ninja looked down at this, even Gaara. Naruto moved over to his fellow Jinchuruuki and clapped him on the shoulder. "You guys are on our side now, so this includes you. And Gaara-kun, you can give your 'Mother' as much blood as she wants from the Sound ninja when they attack." The redhead looked up and blinked, a dark grin spreading across his face that sent shivers down his siblings' spines. A glance at the Jounin confirmed what Naruto had offered.

The group headed off towards the place where they had agreed to meet with the other Konoha ninja. When they arrived, they saw that so far, only Team Gai had beaten them there. The green-clad duo waved ecstatically when they saw the other Leaf ninja. The pale eyed Hyuuga that Naruto had run into once with Hinata, who said he was her cousin, grunted in a fashion remarkably similar to Sasuke. The third member of the team, a bun haired girl, stared at Naruto in shock for several moments as they walked up. The Jounin sensei of the team, Maito Gai, was the first to say something.

"Greetings and salutations on this YOUTHFUL day! I, Maito Gai, am glad to see that the FIRES OF YOUTH are burning bright in more than just my team!" Everyone within hearing range winced as the man shouted. A sharp glance from the other two Jounins did nothing to calm him down.

"Gai-sensei! If the FIRES OF YOUTH do not burn bright in at least one more team, I shall run fifteen laps around our fair village on my hands!" This line had the new arrivals blinking and looking at each other. Temari leaned over to Naruto and whispered into his ear, her eyes locked on the two green clad shinobi who were shouting back and forth more and more exaggerated claims as to what they would do if the other failed.

"Are they always like this?" The blonde haired Jinchuruuki kept his eyes on them as well, shocked at what they were shouting. When the older man claimed that if his student failed to carry a boulder across the breadth of Konoha that he would scale the Hokage monument with two boulders on his back, he finally tore his attention away and replied.

"I don't know. I've heard rumors but…. This is waaay beyond what I thought they would be like."

"Yes Temari-san, they are. If anything, this is calm for them." Ronnel leaned over their shoulders and smiled at the other male Jounin. "Now then, Gai-san, please, shift gears. This is a war session, so everyone needs to be serious." He straightened up as he spoke, and stepped out from behind his student and the foreigner girl.

"If this is a war meeting, then this foreign scum has no business being here." The Hyuuga boy spoke haughtily, glaring at the puppeteer, redhead and the girl standing by Naruto. The two normal Sand Gennin bridled at this, Kankuro's hands twitching as he activated his chakra threads and Temari's hands inching towards her fan.

"Shut up brat. These three have far more to contribute to this than you do." Anko stepped forward and pushed the pale eyed boy back behind his sensei. The boy glowered at them and opened his mouth to speak again but a hand being placed on his shoulder by Gai silenced him.

It was then that other teams began arriving, The first group to show up at the meeting grounds was Kurenai's team. Hinata immediately moved over to her brother figure and hugged him, making Temari blink. Before the blonde girl could get over her shock and get angry at the bluenette, the girl took a step back and settled beside him. Naruto smiled back and turned to grin at Kiba and Shino. The animal bonded boy smirked slightly and sat down against a wall nearby as Shino nodded solemnly at his friend.

Kurenai leaned against a fence and smiled as her students began chatting with the two teams already there. Though she was a bit confused at the fact that the Sand squad was there, seeing both her dango obsessed friend and Anko's wildcard boyfriend calmed her, knowing that if the Sand trio wasn't meant to be there, they wouldn't be. The other three Jounin gravitated to her, separating themselves from their Gennin charges.

"Nai-chan, with you here there's only a couple more groups missing. Now we just need –"

"It's troublesome, but we're here Anko-san. Asuma-sensei finally got around to telling us where the meeting is." Shikamaru's drawl came from the access door to the Jounin group's left. The Nara Heir was leaning against the doorway, his eyes drooping closed as Ino shoved past him, with Chouji following a few steps behind her. The Akamichi Heir caught his lazy friend as the boy opted to let Ino's shove knock him to the ground.

"Heeeeeey, where's Sasuke-kun? I want my Sasuke-kun!" The blonde Konoha girl looked around, her eyes dismissing the others who were already gathered there. Hinata laid a hand on Naruto's arm as the blonde Jinchuruuki's fists clenched. Even then, with his proclaimed 'imouto' trying to calm him down, the Leaf's Demon Container was visibly upset about Sasuke. Temari, noticing that something was wrong with her host, moved over to him and laid her hand on his shoulder.

"Calm down Whiskers." Naruto looked up at her, seemingly searching for something in her gaze. Whatever it was that he was looking for, he found, for when he turned away, his body posture was relaxed again.

Ronnel and Anko caught this little byplay with a fair bit of shock. It was an accepted fact among the circle of friends that if Hinata couldn't get Naruto to calm down about something, than it was pretty much a lost cause. Sasuke, and anything to do with him, was largely the source of those times. That Temari had been able to get him to relax intrigued the two Jounin who lived with the young happy-go-lucky Jinchuruuki.

"Yeah, relax otouto. You_ do_ remember who his sensei is now right?" That got a chuckle out of the Jounin who knew the Copy Cat Shinobi. There were nods all around, including Naruto's. This got them strange looks from their Gennin and the Sand Siblings. Ronnel's words finished calming his younger brother down.

"Eto, Ronnel-san, what does that mean?" Chouji looked at the sword wielding Jounin, who grinned widely and looked at his fellow Jounin.

"Should we tell them?" Almost as soon as he spoke, Anko was nodding with a maniacal grin on her face. Kurenai shrugged, agreeing not to argue with the point. Asuma, who had slipped in unnoticed and was trying to inch closer to the Genjutsu Mistress nodded, his cigarette leaving a smoke trail that wrapped around his chin. Ronnel looked back at the Gennin. "We actually said that this meeting would begin two hours ago." The Gennin, minus Naruto who figured out the ploy, panicked.

"You mean –"

"Troublesome, we missed –"

"Aniki, why don't you explain?" Naruto's voice cut through the other young ninja's chatter and made them all turn to look at him curiously. When they saw that the blonde boy was completely calm, their eyes turned towards the Jounin who were all grinning. Kiba's and Akamaru's ears twitched as they heard footsteps but put it off for now, instead focusing on the teachers.

"It's simple really. By stating that the meeting was two hours ago…"

"Sorry everyone, this black cat crossed my path and I had to circle around to avoid it. But when I did, I happened to wander through a street where there was a ladder festival going on. Before I knew it, I had walked under a dozen ladders. So I had to go to a field and find four leaf clovers to cancel out my-" The voice that came from behind them was accompanied by an irritated growl. Everyone turned their heads to the other side of the roof they were standing on and saw Kakashi standing there with one hand on Sasuke's shoulder. The duckass haired teen tore away from his teacher's grasp and stormed away.

Almost immediately, Ino dashed over to him screaming about her Sasuke-kun. Kiba blinked and turned his head to Naruto.

"Hey, Naruto, I have coupla questions for ya." The blonde boy nodded slightly, indicating he would answer. The feral boy tilted his head, pondering which to ask first. Then he shrugged minutely and jerked a thumb over his shoulder to where Sasuke was ignoring Ino.

"Where's the other one? She didn't get put down on the Stone of Heroes so we know she ain't dead, but no one's really seen hide nor hair of you three since you came back from that mission. And now you arrive with your brother and some purple haired lady, and Sasuke arrives with your teacher but no pinky. What gives?" Shikamaru groaned loudly and buried his face in his palms with a muttered troublesome. The bonded boy turned to look at the pineapple headed Gennin curiously before looking back at Naruto.

The blonde Jinchuruuki was standing with his hands loosely clenched as he stared at the ground again. He was trembling slightly as he stood there. With a concerned look on his face, Ronnel stepped over to his younger brother and whispered something in his ear. The younger male shook his head and took a deep breath. Before he spoke, Kiba noticed that Kakashi had turned his head away as well.

"I mentioned it before, back at the start of the first stage when someone asked me about it there. But the mission was horrible, truly. The Sasuke was the only one our sensei had trained –" here everyone saw the cycloptic Jounin flinch visibly. "So Haruno knew nothing about anything. I said we were attacked by missing ninja and well…. The first ones, I took out. But the next person we ran into was Momochi Zabuza." Shikamaru's eyes widened drastically when he heard that name, as did Temari's and Kankuro's. The two Suna Gennin connected that with the name of their other housemate and paled slightly.

"For those who don't know, Momochi Zabuza is one of the Seven Deadly Swordsman of the Mist. He's easily an A, bordering on S, ranked ninja. He showed up and hid himself in a field of mist that enveloped all of us. From there he unleashed his Killing Intent on all of us and well…" He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck worriedly. Everyone's eyes were on the blonde Jinchuruuki, even the Jounin who hadn't heard of this before. Ino had finally managed to drag Sasuke back to the group and was hanging onto his arm. Said Uchiha was scowling at Naruto's words, knowing what was coming.

"Sasuke had the better reaction of the other two. He pissed himself but managed to stay on his feet. Haruno though, passed out cold. After Zabuza was forced to retreat, Kakashi-san passed out from chakra drain from using his eye." The Jounin all nodded when they heard this, knowing that the Kekkei Genkai drained more chakra from non-bloodline members. "So I created clones and carried all of the unconscious people, Haruno, Kakashi, and the client, to the client's house so they could recover. When we arrived…" He trailed off and shifted uncomfortably, his eyes sliding away from the group. Everyone stared at him curiously, wondering what had happened that he was avoiding.

"When we arrived there, Sakura woke up and reacted badly to being carried by a clone of Naruto. She stabbed the clone in a spot that if it had been the real Naruto, he would have died. After the mission was concluded, and we returned home, Hokage-sama was ready to exile Sakura from the ninja forces. Naruto is the reason she wasn't. He asked that her sentence be lightened, and it was. She is now going back through the last year of the Academy, and will be on probation once she returns to active duty." Kakashi's voice was tired as he spoke. He had moved while Naruto was speaking and laid one hand on his former student's shoulder. "With that, Hokage-sama split our team up. Naruto went to continue his training under his older brother, while Sasuke was made my apprentice. And I think Ronnel got the best of that bargain." This bit was muttered under his breath so softly that only Naruto, standing right by him and with his slightly enhanced hearing was able to catch it.

Silence reined on the roof top. Naruto looked around to see how the other Gennin were taking the news of what had happened. Ino was standing there, her mouth slightly agape as if she couldn't believe what her rival had done. Shino stood still, the only indication that something was different from normal was that there was a steady buzz coming from the kikaichou living with him. Hinata was shocked, and her Kekkei Genkai had activated without her intentionally using it. Chouji had dropped his bag of chips to the ground and stared blankly in head of him. Shikamaru's hands were twitching rapidly, his shadow distorting over and over. Kiba was growling, his Inuzuka loyalties demanding that the girl be hurt. His canines and nails were elongating as he visibly shook in place. Team Gai had all paled visibly, even the stoic Neji. Sasuke….looked triumphant.

The foreigners were handling what they had found out a bit better. They didn't know Sakura personally, so had no point of reference for her. But they did know the constant threat of growing up with their younger brother and his need for blood satiation, which had at times come close to claiming their own lives.

"Enough of the past!" Ronnel slammed his claymore down into the roof top, piercing through the stone into the building below. Everyone's eyes sped over to him in shock. "This is not the time to be reopening old wounds. This is a time for preventing new wounds from occurring. We have a war looming on the horizon, and we must prepare ourselves for it."

"Rei-san's YOUTH shines brightly!" Gai's shout lightened the mood considerably, making the sword wielding Jounin wonder for the first time if there was a deeper meaning to the green clad man's insanity. His curious gaze was met with flashing teeth that made him wince and turn his eyes away.

"Yes. The main brunt of the planning and fighting will rest on the shoulders of the Chuunin, Jounin, and ANBU. In fact, most Gennin won't be involved at all. The reason you brats are up here is simple." The younger ninjas' eyes moved to Anko as the purple haired Snake Summoner began speaking again. "You're going to be in the middle of it all. For reasons that are unclear to us, the invasion forces are going to wait until the third stage commences. That means that you will need to be on your guard during the second stage, but don't expect too much trouble beyond what would normally occur." The group settled in to planning, discussing with the Sand group what might be expected. Having already gone over most of this with Baki when it was revealed, Ronnel allowed his attention to wander. Once more, he found himself thinking of the familiarity of one of the stone faces on the Hokage Mountain, but he still couldn't place it. His attention returned to the group when a question was directed at him, and the fleeting feeling escaped once more.

_**A Few Hours Later…**_

Naruto leaned back in his seat, rubbing his overstuffed stomach contentedly. Beside him, Gaara was sprawled back in his seat, dazed and unresponding. Temari and Kankuro were looking at their brother worriedly, but he was still awake enough that Shukaku wasn't close to slipping out of the seal. The blonde boy stood up suddenly, stretching his arms out and smiling widely at Ayame, who had just cleared the two Jinchuruuki's bowls away.

"So, what do you guys think?" The fully functional Sand Siblings quickly nodded and proclaimed that the ramen was truly delicious, while their near comatose brother merely groaned and rubbed his own stomach.

"Full….. Even Mother is full….." The phrase made everyone who knew who, or rather what, the redhead was referring to, blinked in shock at that one.

_Uh, Kyuubi-sensei? Is that normal?_

_**So much saltiness….no more maman, take it away take it away!**_ The blonde Demon Container did a mental double take. Looking at his guests, who were now all either staring at their ramen bowls, or at the ceiling in Gaara's case, Naruto decided to risk diving into his mindscape to find out what had caused that little outburst from his demon.

When he arrived at the Kyuubi's cage, he found Nine Tailed Demon Fox comatose on his back, his four legs twitching in the air. The boy knelt down and sniffed the river that was flowing into the Kyuubi's cage, and found that it was ramen broth, a medley of all the different kinds he'd eaten so far. He looked up and wandered around the small grove, examining the cage and its prisoner from multiple angles, and finally shrugged before ejecting himself from the mindscape.

_Well, at least now I know that it isn't just the Ichibi who gets some of what his container eats. I wonder if that's why I always eat so much….._ The blonde haired boy shrugged, accepting the fact, or just not caring. Either way, he would eat his ramen.

_**The Apartments**_

Ronnel dodged around the bed, holding a pillow against his torso as he glared at his girlfriend. The purple haired woman licked the edge of the kunai in her hand suggestively before lunging across the bed, trying to catch the shinobi. The pillow lashed out, bopping her in the head and forcing her back. The two continued this for several minutes, circling around the bed like two boxers, testing their opponent.

"Dammit Ronnel-kun, I don't want to die a virgin here! And if I lose you there won't be anyone else for me!" Anko plunged her weapon down into the bed and collapsed against the furniture, her shoulders shaking as she began crying. The young man stared at her for a moment, suspecting a trap, but it wasn't long before his beloved's tears got to him. He dropped the pillow and moved around to her, kneeling and taking her into his arms when he arrived.

"Ko-chan, I told you, Orochimaru isn't enough to kill me. Sure, he's big bad and scary. Sure, he's one of the Sannin. So what? I've made my reputation killing psychotic immortal killers, and not all of them let their skills lessen when they couldn't die." The crying eased slightly, but didn't cease. Ronnel shifted to sitting crosslegged on the floor and pulled her onto his lap. "Now then, I've told you, I want our first time to be something special, not because of fear. That ruins any real meaning behind it, and then any time we got intimate after that you would just be reminded of this fear. Do you want that? Because I sure don't." Slowly, Anko looked up at her boyfriend, her eyes slightly bloodshot.

"S-so it's not because you don't want me?" That question floored the former wanderer. For a split second, he pondered how to respond to that and finally shrugged before tilting his head down and catching her lips with his. They stayed like that for a minute, Anko's eyes wide with shock and growing pleasure, before the shinobi finally pulled back from his girlfriend.  
"And if that doesn't fully answer you, just think about what you're sitting on Ko-chan." The Snake Mistress ducked her head down, trying to hide her blush as Ronnel began chuckling softly. He stood up carefully, moving his arms so that he was holding her against his chest. The woman was lowered gently to the bed, and laid there, staring at the ceiling in a daze, before she felt her boyfriend lay down next to her.

"Now, it's late Ko-chan. You can stay here with me if you want, but if you do, we aren't going past holding each other." Her eyes widened as she twisted her head to the side to see him smiling at her gently, his eyes closed. For a moment, they laid there like that, before she turned around and snuggled back against him. When she felt the blanket rise up over her and his arm drape over her waist, she let out a soft smile of her own and curled tighter against him.

When Naruto poked his head through the door to let Ronnel know that he and the Sand Trio had made it back safely, he saw the two of them lying there, both sound asleep. The blonde teen smiled at their sleeping forms before pulling back from the room and closing the door.

"You two deserve a night's peace….but just one." He smiled crookedly before heading down to his room to sleep.

_**AN:**_

_**Yeah, this chapter I don't like too much. I kept having trouble, so, for this chapter, flames are ok. Well, until the last part. The fluff was fun to write and I can't wait to bring Naruto and his group into focus. Now a bit of warning to all my readers – soon, a bit of Ronnel's past that he thought lost will be coming back. Cyber cookie to anyone but James-kun who guesses what that means.**_

_**Now, for the Reader Reviews!  
**_

**Fanficreader71 & Umbra8191:**

_**Next chapter is here good sirrah/madam.**_

**Dragon And Sword Master:**

_**Ahhhh, I'm not done with Kabuto just yet! And that genjutsu is one of several that our favorite chakra juggernaut will use, some with similar restrictions. **_

_**Sasuke and the Scythe…. I'm not entirely sure I'm going to give the Duckass the Sharingan. He's already got one path to immortality open to him…. It'll depend on if I let the homopedophile survive or not. But, if he does get it, yes, Jashin will influence the Sharingan. **_

_**And no, that second spy won't come back to bite the Hunter specifically. All he managed to do was learn that they knew that Orochimaru was posing as a Grass girl. Now that that's been revealed to both sides, the snake will shed his skin for a new guise. Especially since, (kudos to anyone who realized this) the Grass team did not pass the first stage.  
Anyway, sorry if this chapter isn't as good. Had some trouble with it, but now that I'm getting back to my Second Exam, this is flowing better. See ya next review!**_

**Naginator:**

_**He's got a few more tricks up his sleeve for the wind control, and one of them is **_NASTY_** in what it does. And yes, it's a Naru/Tema/Haku/Yugi fic, and Naruto won't be able to step out of line ehehehehe.**_

**DBZ lover:**

_**Thankee**_

**Nayami-chan:**

_**Ah, my most loyal reviewer. I'm glad to hear that you're better, and I hope you aren't sick by the time this comes out again. To the fight thing – I'm a visual oriented person too, so I just try to get enough detail for the image to come across. Hope it's working!**_

_**Get lots of sleep Na-chan!**_

**James Lutol:**

_**Ah, don't worry too much. Kabuto isn't gone forever. And as for the Kekkei Genkai – I read the idea on a forum somewhere (no, not there) that the reason he was able to survive having a Rasengan shoved in his stomach, when it's a killer move, was that he had a highly advanced regeneration Kekkei Genkai. And in Lionheart-sama's fic Chuunin Exam Day, Kabuto's family had a familial regeneration technique. So, I used it, and it's effective. He can recover from a lot, but he can't heal wounds that have been sealed shut. If someone were to say, cut off the burnt flesh well then…… you get the picture. Ah, and I'll need the history.**_

**No I'm Not on Facebook:**

_**Hope this chapter is as good, though I won't be offended if it isn't.**_

**Still Not Dead Yet:**

_**Hehehe, yeah, Team Gale is going to have fun. They'll be tapped for a few more missions and what not. Curious – what do you mean? No one is indisposed….**_

_**P.S.: Everyone, I have, at last count, 67,467 hits, and only 153 reviews! That's one review for every 441 hits! Please, please, please, please, review everyone! They give me warm fuzzies and make it worth writing!**_


	19. Chapter 18

_**Chapter 18: Beginning of the 'Mission'; Electrifying Revelations!**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Roachy would never have stood a chance against the old man if I did.**_

_**The Apartments**_

Naruto groaned and rubbed his aching head. Two days before, Anko had suddenly shifted her attention from bothering his older brother, to focusing on the younger shinobi. He had been training constantly since then, learning how to counter snake summons and how to dodge the snake style jutsu. He was quickly introduced to several kinds of poisons from the snakes that the Snake Mistress caught him with – a twin fold benefit, the Kyuubi was getting much, much better at burning the toxins out of his system, and he was getting much better at recognizing the signs of a Snake Summoning being performed, and dodging them.

His similar training in dodging the Hebi taijutsu style wasn't progressing as well. Or, should it be said, growing any better. Anko quickly found out that whatever it was that her boyfriend was training his younger brother in, it was very proficient at countering the Hebi style. On a hunch, she switched to another, less used style that she had managed to get the basics of from Maito Gai, the Gouken. While she wouldn't be as good as he or that clone of his were, she could still use some of the beginning techniques well. So she was shocked when Naruto decimated her until she switched back. The blonde smiled, remembering her reaction at that point.

_Despicable Author Style: Flashback technique!_

_ Anko landed shakily and scowled at the blonde haired boy she was training. Both were sweating heavily, with Naruto looking worse for the wear but not by much. They had been training the boy in countering the Snake style, because Anko believed that Naruto might run into her treacherous teacher and she wanted him to be able to survive until help came. So far in their training, she had found out that the boy had a unique taijutsu style that she didn't recognize from anywhere. She winced and shook out her arm, trying to banish the feeling of pins and needles that Naruto's last strike had caused._

_ The Jounin had switched to her basic Gouken, thinking that the change in style would throw off the Jinchuruuki. That had not happened. Instead, he had disabled her arm by jabbing two spots on it near the shoulder then sent her flying backwards with a double handed, open palmed slam to her stomach. It was at that point that she had begun realizing that the boy was above Gennin level in more than just his Ninjutsu skill._

_ "Alright brat, time to spill it. What the hell is with that style? It's almost like my Hebi style, mixed with a strange Jyuuken. I can't think of anything else that uses finger pokes like you do. But just when I get used to that, you pull out some crazy powerhouse attack. Talk." She glared at the young teen, who tilted his head and grinned widely. The purple haired woman blinked at that grin, wondering what was so funny._

_ "Aneue, you've never fought with Aniki without his swords have you? This is his preferred style, the Kaihaiken. He learned it from a medic friend of his who was working on creating it, in exchange for helping his friend with it. It's a counter style, with a few attacks that aren't counters mixed in to keep it variable. It's based on pressure points and similar things within the body, places that when struck have various effects. My favorite part is that the style allows for some individual attacks, that keep people from countering one user based on a fight with another. For instance, that last attack was purely mine, Ronnel-niisan might have kicked, or used a sudden jutsu like he likes doing. It's also very, very good for dealing with three styles of combat, the Hebi, Gouken, and yes, the Jyuuken. It's good against some others too, but those are its main victims." Naruto grinned as Anko suddenly realized something that that meant._

_ "Naruto….just how good are you in this style?" Her voice was low, as if she was considering something very important to her._

_ "Uhm, well, Aniki said I'm about mid-Chuunin in learning it, but because I have better strength than most other people, I can use it at high-Chuunin." Taking the questioning as a sign that they were done, the teen plopped down to the ground and crossed his legs._

_ "And what about Ron-kun?" Naruto blinked and rubbed the back of his head, pondering that question. He could tell from the hitch in her voice that this was the important part of what she was asking, but for the life of his he couldn't figure it out. With a tiny shrug, he replied._

_ "Well, if he was just using pure taijutsu, no chakra enhancements like he normally uses, Aniki would rate at a high-Jounin. With those boosts, which are almost as good as opening the first Gate, I don't know. And that's not even considering the fact that he likes throwing slugs of elemental manipulation into his fighting style." Anko stared above the boy for a long moment, then a strange grin, one that blonde boy hadn't seen, split her lips. It wasn't her normal, sadistic grin, nor was it the one that she used when pranking. It seemed to be…joy, and seeing the normally dark woman smiling that happily threw the boy off. Before he could ask what was up, she held up one hand and detonated explosive tags that were laying around Naruto. They resumed their training, and by the time it was done, Naruto hadn't been able to ask what it was about._

_Flashback Technique: Release!_

Naruto chuckled again, for the next day, his brother had burst out of his room with a purple blur chasing him. Anko had pursued Ronnel through the house for almost an hour, that same grin on her face, though now it had a tinge of lust mixed in. Then his eyes darkened as he remembered how Ronnel had finally gotten out of it – by picking _him_ up and throwing him towards the woman, shouting that she should keep training him. He had then dashed out of the building with his Shunpo, leaving two people looking him after with two very different expressions.

With another shrug, the Uzumaki-Rei boy snagged up a set of clothes similar to what he had changed to after the first Exam. He headed into the bathroom, making sure to lock the door behind him this time. After he had showered and dressed, he hurried back to his room and grabbed his weapons and their sheathes, slipping the harnesses on and heading downstairs.

He reached the bottom floor to find everyone already down and gearing up to leave. His brother was spinning something on his hand, moving it so fast that no one could see what it was. When Naruto got over to him, the male Jounin smiled and stilled the object in his hand. He reached out and plopped it down onto his brother's head and nodded.

"There. When I saw you in that outfit it felt like something was missing. That completes it." Everyone at this point looked over at the duo. Naruto lifted one finger up and pushed the brim of the fedora hat on his head back and grinned up at his older brother. Then he pulled it off and looked at it. The hat was a dark shade, deeper than brown but not quite to black. He noticed that on the inside were small seals.

"Inner Expansion seals. You can have that entire mess of hair of yours in that hat and it won't even tilt wrong." Ronnel grinned again then looked up at Baki and Anko. "Alright, let's get these kids to the start point. Naruto, remember what we told you about that place and you'll do fine." Here the sword wielder tilted his head towards his girlfriend. The older ninja grabbed onto the shoulders of the Gennin, Anko and Ronnel each taking a Jinchuruuki while Baki took his other two students. There was a brief pause before the group shimmered and vanished into a large swirl of leaves.

_**Entrance to Training Grounds 44 aka 'Forest of Death'**_

The entrances to the main gates were awash in noise and confusion. The Gennin that had managed to get through the first stage were feeling the beginnings of nervousness now. The number of contesting teams had been cut down to a third of the original number, give or take a few more squads. So far, no Jounin or proctors had shown up, and the hustle and bustle at the gates had yet to settle down.

A short distance away from the metal chain link and powerful seals that created the barrier around the Training Grounds was a small clearing in the buildings. In that clearing, wind began picking up faster and faster, soon raising a dust cloud that obscured the sight of the area. When the dust finally settled, the group from the Apartments could be seen. The ninja from Konoha settled down when they saw the two Jounin, while the foreigners dismissed the sight.

At the double gates, there was a loud report. All faces swung towards that spot, and saw that there was two men standing there. One was Ibiki, a face that had several of the ninja falter when they realized he would be in charge of them again. The other though was a face that only the Konoha ninja recognized. A tanned hand raised up and rubbed the bridge of his nose, pressing against the scar there. His eyes cut across the crowd and finally settled up on the young blonde haired boy, though that blonde hair was obscured by a dark brown hat.

Iruka allowed himself a brief moment to reflect on the boy as Ibiki began speaking, confirming the mission details that the Gennin squads had gathered together in the first stage.

"Alright you brats, now that you're all quieted down, we can begin. This is the second stage of the Chuunin Exams. For those who don't know, which is likely to be most of you, the area behind me is Training Ground 44, colloquially called the Forest of Death by those who know if it. Inside is a dense forest, filled with dangerous beasts that can give even some Jounins difficulty. This portion is simple. From the first stage, you know that you are to hunt through the forest and find certain items that have been hidden within it. Your opposition will be the other squads, for there are only enough of these items for half of the teams to continue on to the third and final stage, as well as the inhabitants of the forest. You have one week to complete this exercise, though I suggest you move fast. The mission parameters had a few hints as to what kind of areas the items that you need to retrieve can be found in, so I hope you went over that information thoroughly." The Torture and Interrogation Chief looked at all of the assembled ninja, noting that the Grass team that he had caught on to last time was gone. He scowled at losing track of the traitor, the dark expression scaring the nearest Gennin. A quick shake and he continued speaking.

"In this stage, killing is permitted." Gaara's eyes flitted over to Naruto, who nodded once but signaled him to avoid Leaf ninja. Both looked back up as Ibiki spoke. "Because of that, you will need to come up here and fill out these forms. They state that in the event that you are killed within the forest, your village will not seek repairs from Konoha. If you do not complete one of these forms and sign it legally, then you will not be permitted to compete any further in this exam." There was a brief shuffling of feet, then silence as several Konoha and Ame squads peeled away and departed. Slowly, a line up to Ibiki and Iruka formed, with the T&I specialist handing out the forms and the teacher taking the completed ones.

As they did, Ronnel squeezed Anko's hand and began slipping through the crowd of ninja, soon making it up to where Iruka and Ibiki were at the front. He leaned against the gate beside the scar-faced Chuunin.

"Ok, I understand why Morino-san is here, but what about you Umino-san?" The Chuunin waited until there was a gap in the line to reply.

"There's a secret about me that few people know. Suffice it to say, that I can easily hold my own against most anything that occurs here." After a pause waiting for the other man to continue, the dual-sword wielder shrugged and nodded. He clapped the other man on the back and circled around the group of Gennin who were now congregating to be let into the Exam area.

When he made it back to Anko, he looked over and saw that the woman was staring across the men, women, and teens that were milling around, with almost everyone having handed in their forms. Whatever the Snake Mistress was looking for in the crowd, she apparently didn't see it for she grunted and looked over at her boyfriend. The two looked at each other for a moment, before Ronnel turned around and knelt on the ground. With a wide grin, Anko clambered onto his back.

Baki looked at this odd sight with evident curiosity. The purple haired Jounin waved at the Sand shinobi with one hand, the other wrapped around her ride's chest.

"We've got some things to talk about Baki-san. We'll see you at the Tower later. Keep an eye out alright?" The man nodded to the other after he finished speaking. Ronnel paused, filtering chakra into his legs. Remembering what she had done last time, he also sent additional energy into his ears, to protect them from being damaged. "Shunpo." With a bright glow, the two vanished, a trail of dust the only clue what direction they had gone in.

_**With Naruto**_

The blonde haired Jinchuruuki rubbed the back of his head as he looked around for the Kumo team. He needed to keep track of them so that once they were within the Forest of Death he could find them so that the Nibi's Jinchuruuki could explain what she and her squad were up to. When he finally did spot them, the hairs on the back of his neck prickled. Despite the fact that there were several people between them and the focus of their attention, it was obvious what they were doing.

Hinata blinked as Naruto suddenly shot past her, giving her only the slightest of nods. She looked after the boy she considered a brother in confusion, wondering what it was that had him concerned enough to be in that much of a hurry. When he disappeared into the crowd, she pondered following him with her Byakugan, but decided against it. She turned her attention back towards her teammates, and giggled at Kiba's boasting. She stiffened when she looked past the feral boy to see Sasuke leaning against the main gate, obviously impatient.

Naruto's hand wrapped around Yugito's upper arm, jerking her sideways. He glared at her, causing the other blonde to flinch.

"Look, just wait ok? And stop worrying so much about it, I swear to you upon the secret of who we are that we are not here to hurt the Hyuuga girl.

_**Far from it eh kitten?**_ The Nibi's voice sounded in Yugito's head. The teen ignored the demon within her in favor of focusing on the rapidly darkening eyes of the Demon Container in front of her. After a tense pause, Naruto nodded.

"Fine. But until you explain what it is that you _are_ doing, I'm going to be watching you very closely." He nodded again to them, then turned on his heel sharply.

_Kyuubi-sensei, did you get it?_

_**Yes kit, I did. Her scent is locked in now, and no matter where she goes I'll be able to find her with your nose. Though I wish that. –**_

_ No sensei. Getting the furries will have to wait until later._ The male Jinchuruuki ended the conversation with his demon, knowing full well that the furball in his stomach could and would pester him incessantly if he left the thought path between them open. His eyes narrowed when he saw what had caught Hinata's attention earlier. He hurried up to Iruka, who was shuffling the papers in his hands.

"Iruka-sensei, how did the duckass get through? I know he wasn't in the chamber when I left, and I was cutting it close on gathering the information. How did he get it so fast?" The blonde teen was shaken when he saw his second favorite teacher scowl darkly enough to put Ibiki's infamous glare to shame.

"Apparently, one of the other proctors 'accidentally dropped' a complete information packet at the Uchiha's feet. The fop was punished for it, but not before Sasuke had memorized the data." Well, that explained Iruka's scowl alright. Naruto snorted and glared at the other boy, who merely raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"Stupid pansywaist. He skates by because one of the Council's whipping boys gives him a by, and I have to deal with a traitor who works for the damned Snake Sannin." Naruto growled and looked away from the onyx eyed boy.

"Move over blondie. Iruka-san, do we have all of the forms?" Ibiki turned his attention back to his partner, who did two quick counts, one of the forms and one of the people, before shaking his head. He lifted up one finger and pointed it towards the boy standing against the gate, who tilted his head, unable to hear what was being said.

"Of all the… Shitstain, get your ass over here!" The Intelligence chief was looking directly at the Uchiha Heir, leaving no doubt as to who he was talking to. The would-be avenger strode over, somehow managing to make it look like he was gracing them with his presence.

"What can I help you with Proctor-san?" The boy's tone managed to be polite and yet denigrating simultaneously. The Head of Torture and Interrogation grabbed the Uchiha and hoisted him into the air and shook him like a rag doll.

"You are not above the rest of these Gennin Shitstain, hell, most of them are worlds better than you in my eyes. Now take one of these forms and fill it out." He dropped the black haired boy and tossed one of the forms down at him. Naruto watched in silence as the other Gennin began laughing.

"I'm not going to Proctor-san. There isn't anyone here who can kill me, only an Uchiha can kill an Uchiha. That little piece of paper means nothing for –ugh!" His former teammate's fist was slammed into stomach before Sasuke could finish speaking. Against his throat he felt cold steel.

"Fill out the damn form yaru. I didn't even use my full speed and you were caught off guard. You have no squad whose laurels you can rest on, in this forest you might die. So fill out the form so one of the _real_ ninja can take you out." The blonde Jinchuruuki gave his ex-squadmate a dark grin. "Or don't, you can sit out here while I become a Chuunin. Then everyone will know how much better than you I am."

_**Kit, calm down! The Uchiha isn't worth it!**_

_ Kyuu-sensei? _ Naruto blinked as he jerked back as if burned, staring at the Uchiha who looked up at him shakily. The Jinchuruuki stared down at his hands as if they were a separate being from the rest of his body in shock. _Kyuubi, what the Makai was that?_

_** I don't know kit. If I had to venture a guess, it's because you haven't used my chakra in a long time and your anger brought it bubbling to the surface. And since you're unused to using it…**_

_My darker emotions rose. Kuso. _Naruto turned away from the shocked stares he was getting from the people who had seen the occurrence, instead choosing to watch as Sasuke shakily signed his name on the bottom of the form. The slightly crazed teen glared at the blonde teen before stomping towards the gates.

Ibiki and Iruka shared a glance before sighing. The Academy instructor tapped the papers in his hand in order to get them level and tilted his head to his partner, who gave an acknowledging nod before turning back to the rest of the Gennin.

"Alright shitstains! We now have the last of the forms, and that means you can enter the Forest!" The Torture and Interrogation master turned to the gate and strode up to it, raising one hand. The tips of his fingers began glowing with a strange purple light. At some unknown trigger for the man, he slashed his fingers down, the blazing line of purple that they left slicing through the main seal on the gates. When the seal was completely sliced through, it fell apart and off the chain links to curl on the ground.

The gates creaked open ominously. From within the depths of the Forest strange keenings and shrieks could be heard. For a long moment, no one, not even Sasuke who was already standing at the entrance, moved. Konoha's Torture Chief glared at the group behind him, and began drawing in his breath. However, it was Iruka who got them all moving.

"**GET MOVING!**" Everyone's head snapped to the man, who was using his Demonic Bighead Technique. The sight brought back memories for all of the Konoha Gennin, who immediately began hurrying into the Forest because of the ingrained response of listening to Iruka when he was like that. And when the Konoha Gennin began moving, so did everyone else so as not to be left behind. When the last person was through the gate, Ibiki dragged them closed and pulled a new seal from an inner pocket on his coat and resealed the gateway.

Baki, who had stayed behind to watch after his Gennin and Naruto, stared at them for a long moment. Then, finally, he turned away and headed up to the Hokage's Tower to continue on with discussing with the Fire Shadow about the invasion. So far, Orochimaru hadn't found out that Sand had reaffirmed its alliance with Leaf, and so discussions with him were becoming intense. Any conversation with the 'Kazekage' was easily more difficult, for they had to hide the fact that not only did they know that he wasn't the real Kazekage, but also that they were going to go against the plans he had decided on. He shook himself from his musing and used the Shunshin to get to the Tower.

_**With Ronnel and Anko**_

Ronnel gently set his girlfriend down outside of her favorite dango shop and guided the slightly dizzy woman into the shop and to one of the seats. After the waitress had come by and taken their orders of food and went to get their drinks, Anko turned to the shinobi and started staring at him. He fidgeted under her gaze for almost a minute, only getting a reprieve when the drinks arrived. Finally, he sighed and looked up.

"Alright Ko-chan, what is it that you want to know? You've been bugging me about something since the first day you were training Otouto." She blushed, remembering the chase that had occurred the day after that.

"Your unarmed fighting style." The three words made the male Jounin nod, now knowing what it was that she wanted to know.

"The Kaiheiken. An old friend of mine had me help him create it. It's meant to counter three other fighting styles, but is versatile enough that it can match others." He sipped some of his oolong tea and looked up at her with a grin. "Actually, considering that they have similar moves, you might be able to learn the style as well. So, why are you interested in it?" Anko sat in her seat silently for a long moment before responding.

"Going all out, how good are you with that style?"

"Ko-chan….." Ronnel sighed, figuring out where she was going with the questions. "If I was to go all out, which would include chakra boosts and elemental manipulation, but not the Gates…. easily, my taijutsu rating would be High Jounin, possibly even nearing Kage-rank. Does that mean I'm going to try confronting the Snake bastard? Hell no. He rarely relies on taijutsu, so just because mine can counter his doesn't mean that I'll get a chance to. He prefers using his ninjutsu whenever he can." His fingers began rubbing the furrow that had risen on his brow as he spoke.

"So you aren't going to go out trying to find him?" Anko relaxed into her seat when she saw her boyfriend shake his head. Before they could continue the conversation, their food arrived. The discussion was put on hold in favor of eating while it was still hot, so they began munching away on the dango.

"Ne, Anko-hime….what color was the Yondaime's hair? I've never seen any pictures of the man, and the Monument doesn't give clues as to colors…."

_**With Naruto in the Forest**_

The male blonde Jinchuruuki skidded on the tree branch that he had tried landing on. When he finally stabilized, he turned around and glared at the water condensation that had formed and thrown him off. Getting no response from the liquid, he growled to himself and turned around and began scanning the branches around him.

_The first object can be found where the birds gather. _The information from the first task was foremost in the young teen's thoughts as he looked around. He had come here because he had seen a small flight off birds burst into the sky from around here. When several minutes of searching revealed no object, the shinobi grunted in frustration and began spiraling down the tree to the ground.

Halfway to the forest floor, one of his feet became lodged in a small hole in the tree. He tripped because of that, slamming his body along the tree then slowly sliding down, twisting his foot sideways. Before his ankle was injured, Naruto clung to the tree with his chakra. He crawled up awkwardly and shifted so that he was sitting sideways on the tree, with his leg outstretched in front of him. A few tugs later, his foot was freed from the knothole.

_Strange….if it was a squirrel's stash hole I should have acorn pieces on my boot but I don't…. Kyuubi, what do you think this stuff is?_ The blonde was looking at a clearish slime on the bottom of his combat boot. There was silence in his mind from the demon before it finally responded.

_**I'm not entirely sure kit, but that looks almost like….. almost like the egg white stuff that your brother occasionally uses to cook.**_ The Demon Container blinked twice and looked at the slime for a moment longer. He could see how the Nine Tails could think that. He twisted his body slightly and peered into the hole to see how many eggs were left. After all, he could use them for breakfast materials if he had to stay in the forest for more than a day.

To Naruto's surprise, within the knothole was a small piece of metal laying within the remains of an egg. He reached in cautiously and drew out the metal object and stared at it as it rested on his palm. It wasn't long, being only slightly greater in length than Naruto's finger. One end was wider than the rest, and made of mostly smooth edges. Down one edge of the rest of the object were irregular ridges that made no sense to the happy-go-lucky Jinchuruuki. The opposite edge from the ridges was what looked to be small catches.

_What on Kami's planet is this?_ When he couldn't figure anything more out by studying it, he slipped it into one of the inner pockets on his jacket. He stood up again, brushing his pants clean of any tree bark or detritus that got on them when he sat down. Then, this time keeping an eye out for any more holes in the tree, he resumed his descent.

_**Kit, I think that is the object you were looking for. Think about it – that hole was a nest, and where do birds tend to gather?**_

_ In their nests…. But that still doesn't tell me what it is._ He could feel the demon's shrug as it settled back into its corner of his mind. Naruto began moving through the trees, heading for where he could smell water flowing. After he had drunk his fill from the small stream that he found nearly obscured by the tree roots that it was flowing through, he settled down onto one of the large roots and closed his eyes.

_Alright sensei, guide me to them._ In front of the blonde boy a faint red trail shimmered in the air. His eyes drifted open and gazed upon the trail before he nodded and stood up. He began following the trail, cursing whenever it went through a tree and made him circle around and guess at where it exited. At one point, the soft red line seemed to falter. Naruto looked down and saw that he was at a river and nodded slightly, realizing that the Kyuubi's scent trail would have issues when crossing open water. Suddenly the line twisted and shot off to the right, and the boy took off sprinting to keep up with it.

After half an hour of following the trail, and a few more sudden twists and turns, Naruto was sitting on a tree branch, gazing down towards the Kumo team. Yugito was crouched down near the ground, her eyes closed as she sniffed the soil. She suddenly stopped and turned her head towards him, her eyes shooting open to show that her eyes were slitted just like a cat's.

"Come on down whoever you are, I can smell you."

"You know, if I didn't know better, I'd assume that you were related to the Inuzuka's from that comment." Naruto chuckled as he dropped from the branch to land in front of his fellow Jinchuruuki. The sudden closeness made the teen girl, who's nose was still pumped full of Youki, get a solid dose of his scent at close range. She stumbled back and plopped down on the ground, holding her head loosely.

The Konoha Demon Container watched worriedly as Yugito's team rushed forward and began trying to find out what was wrong.

_Kyuu-sensei, any ideas?_

_** Only this kit, Nibi normally was submissive. And her container just got a full whiff of you, and you are very much an Alpha type. It probably stunned her. Don't worry, the kitten will be fine in a moment.**_ Just after the Kyuubi's response, the other Jinchuruuki shook her head and stood up shakily. She gave him an odd look that he didn't recognize before turning away abruptly. The other three – her teammate's and Naruto- followed her as she stalked through the trees. She sped up, making them do so as well to keep up. She took to the trees, forcing her teammates to alternate between following her with their eyes and watching the ground to avoid stumbling. The Kyuubi Jinchuruuki however easily followed her into the trees.

When she started to speed up again, Naruto growled and tackled her out of the tree branches. Mid-fall, he twisted around so that when they hit the ground he was the one on bottom, cushioning her impact.

"Dammit you were the one to say you would explain why you're following Hinata-neechan! Start talking already!" Yugito blinked in shock as she came back to her senses fully and realized that she was straddling his stomach. She leapt off of him with a deep blush that she hid by rubbing her face. When her teammates caught up with them, she signaled them to stay a short distance back.

"Alright alright, don't get your panties in a bunch. It's really not that hard, I just didn't want it to be said where another village could hear. Kumo screwed up when that mission to kidnap the girl was ordered. We were between Kages, and the Council was in full control. But that's in the past. Since the current Raikage took control, we have had one overriding mission. To protect the Hyuugas, most specifically, Hyuuga Hinata. Any chance we have, we are to ensure that she is safe."

_**Truly Despicable Author Style: Cliffhanger Technique!**_

_**AN:  
Ok, how many people saw **_that_** coming? Hehe. Oh, and cookie to anyone who can guess what the objects that they are to find are. Just as a hint, there are three.**_

_**Translation:**_

_Kaiheiken: __Evasion Strike Fist. Primarily a combat style for medical ninjas, this style is based on counters and flexibility. It is a modified blend of the Gouken –for its powerful hits – Jyuuken- for its deflections and soft counters – and the Hebiken (Snake Fist) – for its strong counters, flexibility, and finger strikes. Instead of targeting the tenketsu though, the finger jabs of this style target pressure points and small muscle groups, each one with the potential to greatly damage or even cripple the target. One of the unique features of this combat style is that it allows each user to individualize certain parts by incorporating their own attacks at certain points, based on their own unique decisions._

_**Review Responses:**_

_**Bleacher:**_

_**Naruto is going to be with: Temari(main), Haku, and Yugito.**_

_**Firelordeg:**_

_**I am I am, here's the next one!**_

_**Geetac:**_

_**Hope you like this one as well.**_

_**Umbra8191:**_

_**Here it be good sirrah/madam!**_

**Marc:**

**Hope this one is as decent as the last.**

**INeedMotivation:**

**Ehe, yeah, mostly filler last chap, though this one is more story driven. And yes, Sasuke is going to be even more loopy than canon because of the scythe. Sorry about the update gaps, theater crunches and whatnot. I completely understand what you mean. (I had to reread it to remember where I was going a couple of times.) And here's a hint – the next chapter is already sitting at about 3k words as of when I post this update.**

**Kiyomos:**

**You're a fan of Gai and Lee I take it?**

**Lol, anyway, I guess I might need to fix up the prologue since it is a bit choppier than later chapters. Hmm. Oh, and reading the Rough Fist, interesting story.**

**Michael:**

**Well, Kabuto isn't gone yet, but he won't play a role until later. And the Hebi's time is coming.**

**Fanficreader71& No- I'm Not On Facebook:**

**Well, here's the next chapter!**

**Dragon and Sword Master:**

**The Scythe will be affecting the seal actually. And Yugito starts coming into play in this chapter, but what happens won't be important until later on.**

**Still Not Dead Yet:**

**That was kinda because I always wondered how Naruto could eat so much ramen and not get sick. So, it made sense that the Kyuubi was also getting some of it. Thus, the food coma. Oh, and hope you like this chapter.**

**Nayami-chan:**

**Ah don't worry, the end of that Cyber Cookie thing won't be for a while, because no one knows what it means hehehe. I'm glad you liked the last chapter, here's the next.**

**Lostmyshoeinsheol**

**Hehehe. Even if it was a filler, I can keep it entertaining. Hope you like this one even though there isn't a food coma.**

**Bitch-sama:**

**Sadly, I can't just off duckass. I have plans for him, oh yes I have plans for him. –evil cackle-**

**Kamish88:**

**The Sasuke thing is explained in this chapter, hope it answers that. And the reason Ronnel hasn't figured it out is simple – he wasn't a Konoha ninja, so he never met the man. And the Hokage Monument isn't completely accurate, nor is it in color. More on that issue next chapter though.**

**James Lutol:**

**My friend, check your inbox ehe. And don't worry, you reviewed so it's all good.**

**Sweet Heavens:**

**Glad you like it.**

**Cougarkillz****:**

**I know it starts a bit odd, though honestly I've seen stranger. In this, the Hokage at least ensures that Naruto will have a protector when he leaves. Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

_**PS:**_

_**Next chapter is going strong already. Here's a little peek at what happens:**_

"_Same type of place where I found mine. Inside of an egg in a bird's nest, though mine was hidden inside the hollow of a tree. Ah well, I guess that means we have the same one." The blue-eyed teen gave a wave before turning and walking away. There was a falter in his footsteps when he felt a flash of killing intent. The blonde spun around in time to see the male from Amegakure plunging a kunai into his throat._

_ "Sorry about this, but you might lead your tree hugging friends who don't have this object to us." The man looked at into Naruto's eyes, his own gaze dark as he twisted the kunai around. _

**Keep an eye out for the next chapter to see what happens!**

_**Ja ne**_

_**-G.T.-**_


	20. Chapter 19

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. The show wouldn't focus so much on overpowering Sasuke if I did.**_

_**Chapter 19: Within the Forest; A Darkness Descends!**_

_Last time:_

_ "Alright alright, don't get your panties in a bunch. It's really not that hard, I just didn't want it to be said where another village could hear. Kumo screwed up when that mission to kidnap the girl was ordered. We were between Kages, and the Council was in full control. But that's in the past. Since the current Raikage took control, we have had one overriding mission. To protect the Hyuugas, most specifically, Hyuuga Hinata. Any chance we have, we are to ensure that she is safe."_

_Now:_

Naruto stared at Yugito in shock after what she explained why they were following Hinata. She rubbed the back of her neck under his intense gaze, squirming slightly.

"You mean, that in order to make up for killing her belief that she is safe in her own home, to make up for costing an innocent man his life because the girl was saved from her kidnapper, your village has people on missions to protect her?" The female Jinchuruuki nodded, her eyes on him worriedly. The male blonde was silent for a moment before sighing and rubbing his head.

"Fine, but you're going to have one of my clones with you. Sorry, but I don't fully trust that." A moment of concentration, and a second Naruto stood beside the first. The clone moved over to stand with Yugito's teammates. Above them, a second clone was hiding in the trees, keeping just barely in range of sight.

"Understandable. But don't interfere in any fights we get in unless it has to do with her." The blonde shinobi nodded. One last glance at his Kage Bunshin that was standing with the team, and then he moved into the forest. There was a short time of silence in the clearing before the Kumo team started talking in low tones about where they might find the objects. The clone that they knew was there listened to them going in circles about what the clues meant before it sighed and moved closer.

"Hey, can I say something?" All three Cloud ninja turned to look at him. "Look, Boss has already found one of the three objects. He doesn't know what it is, but he does know where he found it. A bird's nest is where you can find one of the three objects."

"Why are you helping us?" The clone chuckled and rubbed the back of its head.

"Uhm, because it's natural. You aren't confirmed enemies, so I have no reason to hinder you." _And if you're trying to find one of those, you aren't trying to find one of the ones that Boss is._ It kept the second reason to itself, though it could tell that the Jinchuruuki girl was suspicious. _Eh, we're even._ The trio climbed up the trees, searching for bird's nests. The two clones followed after them, one much higher up in the trees than the Kumogakure squad.

_**With Naruto**_

Naruto sent a surge of chakra through his legs, propelling him forward through the air. In mid-jump, he front-flipped and channeled more chakra into his feet and tensed his legs up. He landed on another branch, his chakra coated feet adhering to the wood surface. Red-streaked blue eyes swept over the forest around him, trying to find an area where another object might be hidden. The just as he tilted his hat back so that he could wipe sweat from his brow, he saw a team from Amegakure enter a clearing a short distance away from him. For a brief moment, he thought he had seen a glint of metal that wasn't like the normal weapons that people carried.

A moment of concentration and crossed fingers, and three figures were leaping through the trees towards the ninja from the Village Hidden in the Rain. The real Naruto hung back a short distance from his clones, knowing that if the people he was targeting could survive the Bunshin Daibakuha that one of the Kage Bunshin was charged with, he would need to hit them fast hard and with surprise. That thought prompted him to draw his sword and begin charging it with wind natured chakra, twice as much as he had used in his fight with the traitor in the first stage of the Exams. He closed his eyes and waited for the memories of his clones.

_**With the clones and the Rain squad**_

The two kunoichi and the single shinobi from Amegakure stiffened when three identical figures landed in front of them. A quick check of the ground showed that each of the figures was pressing down on the ground, meaning that whatever it was, they were all solid. One of the kunoichi stepped forward and confronted the new arrivals.

"You're the first person we've seen since this Exam started. Who are you, and what do you want?" She stepped back a half pace in fear when all three blondes in front of her gave the same dark look. She fell back to her teammates when the three took a step forward, their expressions promising pain if they didn't like how things went.

"He's the class dobe, and his attempt at being scary is truly pathetic when compared to the fear that a true Uchiha can inspire. Ignore him for I am the one you should be worried about." Sasuke dropped from a tree branch to one side from the clones and began walking towards the Rain ninja. "And what _I _want is simple. I want the object that you have. And you will give it to me or suffer my wrath." The Amegakure squad took one look at the Uchiha Heir before all three grinned. There was a small pause, then they began laughing, infuriating the black eyed boy.

"Stop laughing at me! I am far superior to any of you, and can defeat you with ease! Stop that! Stop thAt!" He blanched and clapped his hand to his mouth when his voice cracked. His voice shooting up like that, and his reaction, made the Rain group laugh even harder. Behind him, the clones of Naruto began laughing themselves, unable to help it. Seeing that any attempts at frightening this group were pointless since they were obviously not scared of him, the would-be avenger stomped away into the bushes.

When all six of the ninja in the clearing finally calmed down and got control of themselves, the clones of Naruto chuckled one last time and looked up at them.

"So uh, what was it that got you three laughing originally?"

"It was his hair. His hair looks like a duck's ass!" The kunoichi who said it began laughing again, while her teammates grinned. The blinked when they heard a triumphant cry from the clones.

"Yes! Someone else sees it! It's not just me!" The clone who shouted saw the looks it was getting and smiled at them. "Sorry, I used to be on his squad, and all I could think of whenever I saw his hair was how much it reminded me of a duck." The dark mood now officially ruined, two of the clones dispelled, leaving only the Exploding clone in front of them. That would lead the ninja to believe that now the real one was in front of them as it spoke.

"Anyway, I just want to see what object you have. I've already picked one up, and if you have the same one there's no point in trying to take it from you." The Amegakure squad looked at each other before sighing.

"How about this, we'll tell you where we found it. Up in one of the trees about half a klick east of here, there was a bird's nest. This idiot –" The taller kunoichi smacked the shinobi upside the back of his head, "- accidentally knocked it down and broke an egg. Inside of the egg is where we found the objective." The woman looked at the clone who nodded.

"Same type of place where I found mine. Inside of an egg in a bird's nest, though mine was hidden inside the hollow of a tree. Ah well, I guess that means we have the same one." The blue-eyed teen gave a wave before turning and walking away. There was a falter in his footsteps when he felt a flash of killing intent. The blonde spun around in time to see the male from Amegakure plunging a kunai into his throat.

"Sorry about this, but you might lead your tree hugging friends who don't have this object to us." The man looked at into Naruto's eyes, his own gaze dark as he twisted the kunai around. Then they widened when the clone sighed and waggled its finger at him.

"Naughty naughty. Bye bye." The Ame man had a look of clear and evident confusion that was washed away when the body under him began swelling. "Boom." There was a concussion that ripped through the clearing, blowing the leaves off of several nearby bushes and throwing the man into the air. Before either of the kunoichi could react, a rush of wind slammed into the shorter one, throwing her against a tree. There was a rustle in the bushes and she saw the blonde teen that her teammate had just stabbed dart out. Between one breath and the next, she felt a fist bury itself in her gut and throw her across the clearing. The two women watched as their male teammate fell from the air, only to land on the outstretched blade of the blonde he had tried killing.

"I was going to let you live, and I'm still going to let the women live unless they attack me. But you see, you, dear sir, attacked me despite the fact that I was clearly non-hostile, and I cannot stand that." He ripped the blade back, twisting the man's bleeding body and sending him face down onto the ground. Naruto looked up at the two women and sighed.

"I suggest you look away." He turned back to the man while sheathing his blade. His hands flipped through an abbreviated chain of seals. "Kazegane: Stage Two." Feet planted on either side of the dazed and wounded man, the blonde Jinchuruuki pointed his hand straight down at the man's back. The orb of solid and compressed wind that formed was smaller than the one he had used on the bridge, and shaped more like a long block than a true orb. He closed his eyes as he released the technique. In the silence of the clearing, the sickening squelch that the attack caused could be heard clearly. Just as clearly, within moments the sounds of retching could be heard.

The eyes of the Demon container drifted open again and the boy shuddered and turned his gaze away. The man who had attacked him was most definitely dead now. The flesh from his back had been squashed down, revealing that the bones had been broken. Viscera leaked away from the flattened carcass, some getting onto Naruto's combat boots. Blood and a bit of gore – in this case, a small chunk of lung- were on the inside of his legs. He stepped away and looked at the women. The taller woman, who he figured was the kinder one, was the one who was vomiting. The shorter woman was apparently in shock.

He walked over to the vomiting woman and tapped a small muscle on her back. Soon, the vomiting ceased. Before she could recover, the blonde boy leapt away into the bushes, already regretting taking the life of the foolhardy man who attacked him.

Unknown to him, black eyes were watching him from the bushes. A small rustle, and the eyes were gone.

_**The Apartments**_

Ronnel slammed his fist against the table in front of him. His dark eyes were filled with rage. Beside him, Anko watched in concern. She had answered his question back at the Dango shop, and he had yet to say anything since that point, despite her effort at getting him to speak. All she could do was watch as he sat at the table obviously lost in thought. After several minutes of this though, the purple haired woman became fed up with waiting in silence.

"Alright, what the fuck has you so damn upset? I've never seen you like this!" She grabbed the hem of her boyfriend's jacket and jerked him to his feet, despite having to lift her arms up to get him standing upright. She glared at him before he sighed and seemed to deflate.

The sword wielder gently pulled out of her grip and walked over to the wall where a picture of the three of them, taken when Anko first moved in, hung on the wall. She watched, curious and slightly upset that he hadn't said anything yet, as he took the picture from the wall. He jerked his head towards the stairs and began walking up them. The Snake Mistress blinked in shock and followed him, wondering what was going on in her love's mind.

The former wanderer headed to the room that he and Naruto had slept in their first night in Konoha when they got back from their training trip. He gestured for Anko to come over to the window, which he was now leaning beside. When she had, he jerked his thumb towards the Hokage Faces which could be seen clearly from their vantage point.

"Look at each of the four." She did, now confused. She turned when Ronnel held up the picture frame. "Now, look at each of the faces here. See anything?" When she kept staring at the picture, still apparently lost, he sighed and shifted one hand so that he and Anko were hidden, leaving only Naruto visible in the image. Then, he stepped behind her and turned her so that she was looking towards the Monument. He lifted the picture up and held it so that the image of Naruto was beside the faces.

"Now?"

"Sweet mother of dango." When Anko said it, her voice was barely above a whisper, clearly stunned. She sagged against Ronnel's chest, her eyes wide as she realized what her boyfriend had shown her. "The gaki's…."

"He is. And now you know why I'm so angry at myself. I have no reason that I couldn't have figured it out. If I had known the man's hair color before..." Ronnel trailed off as he rested his chin on his beloved's head. The two stood like that for a time before the shinobi shook himself. He kissed the back of Anko's neck and stepped away.

"I have to go find out if the Hokage knew. He told me he didn't but there's no possible way that he couldn't have known this. I want to know why he kept it from Naruto." Anko nodded slowly. She turned around and watched her boyfriend head out of the room, and a few minutes later heard a door close below her. She moved to a nearby chair and sank into it, her face dropping into her hands.

"I knew his hair color though…why the hell didn't I see it?" She groaned and leaned back. "And how are the retards going to take this once it gets out?"

_**Forest of Death – Yugito's team and Naruto clones**_

The four ninja landed beside a tree, the cat within Yugito telling the Jinchuruuki that this would be prime hunting grounds for young birds, which meant it would be a good place to find a bird nest. The three Kumo nin spread out and began checking the nearby trees. Suddenly, a flash of metal shot from the bushes, impaling the Naruto clone. Before it burst into smoke, it saw the face of one of the Rock ninja smirking at it. When it burst, the smirk faded into shock.

"What the fuck?" Before he could recover from the shock of seeing his target burst into smoke, a hand wrapped in electricity slammed into his neck, electrocuting him and sending him crashing to the floor twitching. Yugito stood above his body, her expression dark with anger. For a moment, seeing the blonde boy with a kunai sticking from his stomach, the female Jinchuruuki had been incredibly worried, and it wasn't because the real Naruto might think that they had destroyed it on purpose. She stalked towards him, anger radiating from her body.

The Iwa ninja's teammates burst from the ground, throwing Yugito backwards. She landed on all fours, glaring at them as they grabbed their teammate's unconscious body. Just as she raced forward to strike them, they melted back into the ground, dragging the body with them as they vanished.

"Kuso! Why the hell did they target Naruto-san?" The Kumo Jinchuruuki's shinobi teammate spat out as he made it back to the ground from the tree he had been in. Yugito had blasted a crater in the ground with a Raiton jutsu, but whatever it was that they were using had let them get away, and with no hint as to which way they had gone, there was no chance of following them. The Nibi Container growled as she climbed out of the hole in the ground, her eyes dark with fury.

_Alright Nibi, explain why I was worried then got this angry. He isn't a teammate of mine, and was only a tentative ally._ The Jinchuruuki focused her attention inwards, leaving only enough on the outside world that she wouldn't be caught flatfooted by an enemy. There was a pause from the Bijuu within her.

_**It's because…. Kitten, when you got that full blast of his scent, I realized that he is definitely an Alpha. And sadly, I am a Beta, which means…**_

_ Which means that the Kyuubi dominated you, and now I'm worried about him like a pack member? Fantastic, and I'm not even from the same village as him._

_** It's more than that, but we can worry about it later. For now, that is close enough.**_ And despite Yugito pestering her Bijuu for several minutes, there was no response or explanation. Her focus was jerked away from her demon when a blonde wearing a dark fedora landed near their group. Before they could begin speaking, the figure raised one hand.

"Relax. I'm another clone. The last one popped in such a way that Boss knew it wasn't on your end. What did the other clone in?" Red streaked blue met dark grey as the clone asked its question.

"A ninja from Iwagakure. I stunned him, but before I could grab him and begin interrogating him, his teammates showed up and rescued him. That's why there's a hole in the ground, I tried catching them before they could escape." The clone stiffened.

"Rock, you're sure that it was a Hidden Rock Village shinobi?" At the nod from the blonde girl, the clone swore under its breath. It raised its hands, shifting fingers into a familiar cross shape. A surge of chakra and a puff of smoke later, there was another clone standing beside them. The new clone immediately struck itself in the chest, dispelling and sending the data out to the original Naruto.

Just after this was done, the other Kumo kunoichi landed beside Yugito, holding a small egg in her hand. She lifted the blue spackled egg up for her teammates to see. Through the shell an irregular dark shape could be discerned. The Nibi Container took the egg from her teammate and crushed it in her hand. When her fingers uncurled, her squad grinned triumphantly at the sight of a small metal object.

"That's the same as the one Boss found. We're now looking for the same things." The clone blinked. "Well, onwards into the forest I suppose." The other three nodded and the four leapt into the forest, with another clone tracking them from a short distance back.

_**Forest of Death – Naruto**_

Naruto sank against a tree stump near a river stream. His trousers were clean though slightly damp, as were his boots. The blonde teen looked up and drew in a breath shakily as he stared at the branches. His eyes tensed when the memory of his ambushed clone came to him, but there was no subsequent rush of memories from the spying clone. A short while later, another influx of memories came to him – watching through the trees as a kunai pierced his other clone, that it was a Iwa-nin who had attacked it, as Yugito took out his would be killer, and as she was thwarted by the man's teammates bursting from the ground.

A deep sigh rang through the clearing as Naruto stood up and shook his head sadly. Now that he knew that the Rock ninja were after him, he would have to eliminate them like his brother had ordered. He closed his eyes and sent his chakra out in a wave that washed across the entire forest. He was met by four spikes of countering chakra – one nearby that he recognized as Sasuke, one further away that felt like sand to him that he guessed was Gaara, a third that he realized was Yugito's despite not knowing how he knew that, and another that he didn't recognize the feel of. There were many smaller 'bumps' that were ninja who hadn't fought his chakra. Among those he began sorting through for some that felt like the earth. He found several, two sets of three and one by itself with a warm chakra and a windy feeling.

Incapable of narrowing his search down further than that, Naruto created six Kage Bunshin that he sent in pairs towards the three possible targets. He leaned back against the stump and turned his attention closer to home – rather, nearby, to a group of bushes where Sasuke was hiding. He stared at the bushes steadily, until the duckass haired brat stood up and began stalking towards him. A blonde eyebrow lifted as the Uchiha heir took a wide stance in front of him.

"Dobe. You have one of the objects." The question posed as a statement was met with a simple nod. "Good. You're going to give it to mE." The dark haired boy scowled when his voice cracked again. He heard a chuckle and turned his dark glare onto the Jinchuruuki sitting in front of him. Only to realize that somehow, in the time that he had closed his eyes to scowl at his voice, the blonde had stood up and moved closer to him.

"Not going to happen." The Uchiha scowled and leapt backwards, his hands going to a scroll on his hip. Naruto's eyes narrowed as the person who had tried taking his object piece bit his thumb open and swiped it across the seal there. From within the seal came a scythe with blades on both ends. The Jinchuruuki immediately sent a pulse of his chakra at it, only to find out that it was a normal scythe.

"If you won't give it to me, I'll just have to carve it out of you!" The onyx eyed boy dashed forward and swung his weapon in a wide arc towards the Demon Container's chest. Blue eyes opened at the familiarity with which the black haired teen swung the weapon before he bent backwards and channeled a burst of chakra into his legs that sent him shooting away from the wanna-be avenger. He had to roll when Sasuke spun closer to him, swinging the scythe around in a circle so that the edge that had been close to him now swung out to strike at Naruto.

The blonde Jinchuruuki came out of his roll with his hands flashing through seals. When they ended he quickly thrust his right hand, which had become covered by wind currents, at Sasuke's chest.

"Fuuton: Reppusho!" The surge of wind chakra slammed into the dark haired teen's chest and sent him staggering backwards. Still watching his opponent carefully, the Uzumaki-Rei teen drew out his long sword and spun it around in his hand so that the blunt edge faced outward. He brought his sword up into a block as Sasuke lunged at him again, catching the scythe's edge with his blade. Deep, dark brown eyes, Uchiha onyx eyes, bored into red streaked blue orbs as their respective weapons ground against each other.

"Here's a difference between us Sasuke – I sweat and bleed for what I get. Everything I have is earned by my own labors, I accept no handouts. Despite having a damn good teacher, a lot of what I do is self taught… but this, this is straight out of my older brother's hand book." Before the onyx eyed boy could wonder what his opponent was talking about, a surge of pure, unformed wind chakra slammed directly into his stomach and sent him flying backwards into a tree.

"I'd end this now, but I don't have time to dispose of you, something much more important has come up. I'll let the forest deal with you." Sasuke collapsed to the ground, the force of slamming against the tree had stunned him. By the time he had recovered, the blonde haired teen had sheathed his sword and left, disappearing into the trees. It was only as he watched Naruto leaving that he realized something – the boy's actions seemed slower to him. From all of the studying that he had done recently, the dark haired avenger realized what had happened. A mad cackle echoed through the forest from where the Uchiha laid on the ground.

Naruto looked back when an insane laughter reached him. Something big had changed, the Jinchuruuki could feel that. But what it was, he didn't know.

_I get the feeling that I should have killed him there._ He shook the thought away. _Fuck. It's either the issue I don't know back there, or the one I know I have to deal with ahead of me…. Damn. Aniki gave me an order._ The teen growled and dashed onwards, to where his clones had just dispelled giving him the same image as the one who had attacked his clone while it was with Yugito's team. As he ran, he began preparing his most destructive jutsu, his heart heavy with what he would do.

_**Forest of Death – Sasuke**_

The Uchiha Heir chuckled maniacally as he stood up and brushed dirt from his shirt. He resealed the scythe that he had used in his fight with Naruto and was reaching to another one behind him when he heard someone land behind him. He spun around to see a pale, yellow eyed man smirking at him. That smirk, that knowing look, infuriated the young dark haired teen. He slammed his hand through the seals for one of his favored jutsu, one that he had only just mastered.

_This will drain me of my chakra but there's no way any Gennin can match this! That smirking bastard is dead meat now! I'll show him to laugh at an Uchiha!__ Katon: Karyu Endan!_ Fire burst from the boy's lips as his Sharingan caught the man's dodge. He altered the aim of his attack to counter that. As he fell back from exhausting his chakra from the attack.

"Got you."

"Not quite Sasuke-kun. I'll admit, that is a fearsome attack, especially when combined with your precious Sharingan's ability to anticipate. Sadly though, against someone of my caliber, one of those is not enough." The voice in his ear sent the teen sprawling forward. "Still, that was quite impressive…what say you join me? If you do, I can give you the power to defeat that little blonde brat." Sasuke looked up, his thoughts on what he had been about to unseal.

"I don't need _your_ strength, whoever you are. I already have a route to power!" The pale man chuckled darkly before he ran through a quick chain of seals. Without a pause, before the Uchiha could ask what was going on, the man's neck extended rapidly, his head shooting towards Sasuke's neck. Teeth clamped down and the would-be avenger screamed as he felt something akin to liquid fire burn through his veins.

"There…. Now, when you realize just how pathetic you truly are without me, you will come to me… and boy, my name is Orochimaru, your new master. Kukukukukukuku." With that, the man vanished as if he had never been there. Sasuke collapsed completely to the ground, unconscious, as the seal that Orochimaru had branded him with got to work on altering him for its creator.

_**Office of the Sandaime Hokage**_

_Sarutobi Hiruzen, Sandaime Hokage, Kami no Shinobi…. impressive names and titles, and yet, here I am about to be defeated by my worst enemy, the bane of Kages everywhere…._ The aged leader glared at the stack of paperwork in front of him that had somehow grown in the few seconds he had closed his eyes to think.

"I'm telling you again, you cannot go in there! The Hokage is busy and does not wish to be disturbed!" The Hokage looked up at the shout that came from outside of his office. It sounded like one of the two Chuunin who stood guard over his door, but whoever it was that the guard was trying to stop apparently didn't care to listen to them.

"Stop right there! You will not en-urk!" Sarutobi's eyebrow raised as his guard's voice cut off in a choking sound. He began to stand up to find out what was going on outside when the doors burst open, his guard's unconscious form flying through the air to crash against the front of the village leader's desk, upsetting the pile of papers that had been stack precariously on the edge. As the papers fell down and covered the head of the unconscious man, Sarutobi looked up to see who it was that had barged in. His eyes widened at the sight of one of his own loyal shinobi standing in the doorway, his expression grim.

_**Truly Despicable Author Style: Cliffhanger Technique!**_

_**PSYCH! (Eehehehhehehehehehhehehehehhe)**_

_**Read on.**_

_**Office of the Sandaime Hokage**_

"Hello _old man_." Ronnel spat out the phrase as he stepped across the threshold, his emphasis making it clear that this time, the words were an insult and not an endearment. He watched as the Hokage sank into his chair and pulled out his pipe with steady hands.

"Ah, Ronnel-kun –"

"Do not call me that right now. Maybe once you're done explaining your decision, but not now!" Hiruzen looked up, his expression mild, right until he unleashed the full brunt of his killing intent on the former wanderer. He blinked in shock when all that happened from the force of his considerable k.i. being brought to bear on Ronnel was that the man grunted and looked annoyed.

"And what is it that you believe I need to explain Rei-san?" The sword wielding Jounin paused and crossed his arms as he stood in front of the Hokage's desk.

"How about why you kept it from me and my brother that he is the son of Namikaze Minato?" The old man paled as he realized that the man in front of him had found out one of the secrets that he had strove to keep hidden from everyone.

_**Forest of Death – Yugito and the Naruto clone(s)**_

All four ninja looked up as a dark blur shot over them. They all tensed, before something happened that made the blonde male with them relax. When the others turned to look at the clone, it merely smiled with a twisted grin.

"Relax too guys, that was the Boss. He's going after those ninja that attacked the clone earlier." Three people blinked as the fourth suddenly shot off after the dark blur. "Uhm, someone care to explain why Yugito-san just took off like a bat out of hell?" The clone's question was met with two shrugs from her teammates as they looked helplessly at him, at as much of a loss to explain her actions as the clone itself was. They all sighed before following after the blonde Jinchuruukis.

_**AN:**_

_**And now, the end. Next Chapter will have Naruto putting the beat down on the Stone shinobi with his most powerful technique, one that he hates using. If you'll remember, such a technique has been mentioned once or twice before.**_

_**Hope everyone is liking the new and, so far as I know, unique Exams. Last stage is going to pull an idea from another story I've read, one that I've only seen used in that story. If you want an idea of what it is, read Master of the Zanbatous. It's a damn good story, and I love the idea that the author – I can't remember him at this point – has for the preliminaries.**_

_**Hehehehe. This one is kind of a cliffy even with the psych-out (guess everyone knows when I was born now!) that I did. But don't worry, right now the next chapter is already in the works. My muse is alive and healthy, and kicking my ass all over the place for not typing more while she was gone.**_

_**Oh yeah, if you want me to start putting lemons in, you'll need to say so in your reviews. That question hasn't come up yet, but hey, the time for Naruto to come of age is coming…**_

_**Yeah, I know Sasuke gets a double whammy in this chapter, but relax Sasu-dislikers, I have plans for him. Kukukukuku. –muse smacks G.T. on the back of the head.- Sorry, not a mad scientist…sorry….**_

_**Oh yeah, before I forget: Jutsu Translations:**_

_Bunshin Daibakuha: (Exploding Clone)_

_Type: Ninjutsu _

_Range: Varies (depending on distance from user that clone is)_

_Rank: A_

_Requires: Kage Bunshin (Shadow Clone)_

_Description: A powerful Kinjutsu that builds off of another kinjutsu. The user creates a typical Kage Bunshin, but infuses it with additional, unstable chakra. This added chakra allows the clone to survive where a normal Kage Bunshin might not. However, under two scenarios – either enough damage is dealt to destroy the clone, or the clone releases itself – the clone explodes with tremendous force, devastating anything nearby._

_Fuuton: Reppusho: (Wind Style: Violent Wind Palm)_

_Type: Ninjutsu (Shoshijutsu)_

_Range: Mid to close_

_Rank: High B/A_

_Description:_

_The user builds up a slug of wind over their palm and sharpens the leading edge slightly, so that when it impacts it cuts the target before exploding with a concussive wave similar to multiple explosive tags going off simultaneously._

_Kaiton: Karyu Endan: (Fire Style: Flame Dragon Missile)_

_Type: Ninjutsu (Shoshijutsu)_

_Range: Mid to long_

_Rank: A_

_Description:_

_Similar to most Fire Release techniques, the wielder builds up the flame in his lungs and mouth. This one though, under the influence of the hand seals, shapes into a Chinese dragon when released. Users with low chakra can only form parts, or can only control it a little, while those with more can form the full dragon and cause it to turn about, and with enough chakra, can make it become slightly independent to chase its targets._

_**Reviewer Responses:**_

_**Bleacher:**_

_**Yup, pretty sure that isn't used often.**_

_**Marc&Freehawk:**_

_**Glad you liked the chapter, hope this one works too.**_

_**Kiyomos:**_

_**I know ^.^ I am evil. Or, like I said, a Truly Despicable Author ehehe.**_

_**Umbra8191:**_

_**Hope you liked this chapter too.**_

_**Kenchi618:**_

_**Well, the Kaiheiken will be used some time, when Ronnel or Naruto fights someone using one of the three styles it is based on.**_

_**Raidentensho:**_

_**Sadly, no, they aren't pieces of a Hiraishin kunai. It's a good idea though.**_

_**Dragon And Sword Master:**_

_**Eheh…not entirely sure which twist you're talking about since I've put in so many. But yeah, the last stage is going to be odd, and uncommon, though not entirely unique. And yes… Sasuke is going to get hurt by his own power, much like Naruto is in canon.**_

_**And as for your guess about the blonde Jinchuruukis, then in a way, yes they will be getting together because of that.**_

_**Naginator:**_

_**Hmm, crazy four way action? Maybe much later lol. No, they'll be competing with each other for a while before even thinking about settling down.**_

_**DBZLOVER:**_

_**Glad you liked the chapter, here's the next one.**_

_**Still Not Dead Yet:**_

_**Aww, thanks lol. And I know it was, that's why I did it. I am evil muahahaha. Hope you liked the psych out here. And the overriding mission bit just means that they unless Kumo and Konoha go to war, then no Kumo nin can fight a Hyuuga. And any time they encounter a Hyuuga, they have to help that Hyuuga unless it is dangerous for their own life. And if it's Hinata, then they have to go even that far.  
And as to the flirting well, I had to give the third girl some kind of help – Haku saw him naked and he saw Temari naked, so she had to have SOME fanservice right?**_

_**Sadly, no, it isn't a battery. But like the Hiraishin guess, it is a good one.**_

_**QUEENWITCH:**_

_**Glad you like the story, I do try to keep it interesting. And I hope that that edge isn't too sharp. I understand about reading instead of sleeping, I do it often. Hope you slept well between updates! Sorry that you don't like the pairings, but that's the way the cookie crumbles ne? Maybe when I finish this one I'll make another with different pairings…**_

_**Lostmyshoeinsheol:**_

_**Ehe, I've seen other people incorporate things like the pressure points into other styles (like the Snake style in a few Naru/Anko fics), and from my RPing on Gaia with a medic ninja I realized that there isn't an actual medicnin combat style, so I made one for them. Food comas…hmm. I may include another some time, though I don't want the gag to get overused. And I know I'm a bastard ehehehe. Though I thought that you would enjoy the sneak peek, guess not. Ah well. Hope you like this chapter as well!**_

_**Hirochick:**_

_**Itachi will show which side he stands on once it is revealed to the world that Sasuke is a Jashinist. That's all I'll say about him for now. And yes, Ronnel's last name changed to Rei-Uzumaki because he adopted Naruto, at the same time that the blonde's name changed to Uzumaki-Rei.**_

_**James Larthol:**_

_**Should I feel good or bad that you're running out lol. Anyway, patience grasshopper, good things come to those who wait.**_

_**Firelordeg:**_

_**Glad you like the story so much! Hope you enjoy this chapter as well.**_

_**No – I'm Not Dead Yet:**_

_**I'm trying, I'm trying… having a psychotic muse with a scythe helps with that.**_

_**P.S. For the last three chapters I have had the most new reviewers since about chapter four! I guess it has something to do with actually making it to the Chuunin Exams, where a lot of other fics tend to peter out….hmm.**_

_**Anyway, read and review! They be mah lifeblood!**_

_**Ja ne**_

_**-G.T.-**_


	21. Chapter 20

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, there's no way in hell that the already overpowered Uchiha clan would get an ability that allows them to rewrite the world! That's like…a crappy fanfic… O.o**_

_**Anyway, on with the show!**_

_**Chapter 20: Within The Forest pt2: Fight for Life!**_

_**Forest of Death – Near the Stone Ninja**_

Naruto landed on a tree branch near where his clone had told him the Iwagakure group was. Since his second hadn't popped, they were either still here or on the move through the forest, and he doubted that they would move from where they were. The Rock squad had picked an easily defensible position – a small clearing with a sheer rock cliff on one side that jutted out near the top to create an overhang. The ninja had taken up base under that ledge, their eyes darting back and forth along the clearing, obviously expecting an attack.

Before the Kyuubi Container could strike from where he was, another figure landed on the branch next to him. His red-streaked blue eyes turned and he relaxed when he saw the blonde hair of Kumogakure's Jinchuruuki. He turned his gaze back towards the Rock ninja, who were apparently a bit worn out.

_Probably exhausted from their mad dash to safety from Yugito-san's lightning blasts._ Naruto chuckled softly before speaking.

"Ne, can you hit that ledge above them with a lightning bolt?" The blonde girl turned an eye towards him and snorted.

"Of course, a target that big would be like hitting the side of a tower with a bow. But why hit the ledge and not the people themselves? I could take at least one of them out…"

"Oh, you can do that, once I've used my technique. But it's best for me if they're not under cover, it'll let the full force of my jutsu hammer them down. After that, if one is still alive, feel free to fry him." Yugito looked back towards the men and woman who were hiding under the ledge and nodded once. She slipped her hands into the seals for one of her favored attacks for when she wasn't trying to snipe from afar.

"Raiton: Raibakuha." She spoke softly so as not to alert them too early. The two blondes watched as the resulting orb of electricity shot out, moving as fast as a civilian runs, towards the ledge under which the Rock ninja were hiding. They turned their attention towards the trio under the cliff in time to see the three look up in panic, and sprint out from under the ledge. The Iwa nin escaped just in time, for the rocks that the Lightning Blast hit made a small landslide, which if they had stayed there, would have crushed them without warning. Naruto smiled grimly as the three looked around nervously, now standing back to back.

"That's my cue… Yugito-san, please don't hate me for this. And move back, far back." The blonde shinobi leapt from the branch the two Jinchuruuki were sitting on, and landed between the three skittish Rock ninja. Just as they turned around, and saw who it was that had attacked them, Naruto flipped through the last hand sign of his jutsu and called out the name.

"Wind Style: Devastation of God! **(AN: If anyone can translate this into Japanese I'd be grateful.)**" For a long moment, there was silence through the clearing as the Iwagakure ninja looked around nervously, the fearsome name of the jutsu after that last lightning attack scaring them. When nothing happened, the two Rock shinobi turned towards the blonde between them with dark smirks on their faces.

"All bark and no bite eh little bastard? I'm going to enjoy carving your body open and taking it before Tsuchikage-sama. He might even promote us all for it!" The males laughed evilly before realizing that their female squadmate was silent. They looked over at her and saw that she was trembling in place as if terrified. The heavier man, the one who had attacked Naruto's clone earlier and who had just spoken, looked at her oddly.

"Relax Menia-san. The kid was just bluffing." When her shaking didn't stop, and didn't even slow down, the man walked in front of her to look at her face. He blinked in confusion when he realized that she was staring up at the sky. His eyes followed hers and all of the color drained out of his face. "You're fucking kidding…."

"You who are about to die, I salute you." The three Rock ninja looked at the blonde sitting calmly in a small circle that he had carved into the ground. His right hand was pressed against his brow just under his fedora. Before they could ask what he meant, the Devastation unleashed its fury upon them.

From under the cover of the trees, Yugito had followed the Iwa kunoichi's gaze much sooner than her teammate. Just as quickly, she had sprinted through the forest, catching her teammates and the blonde boy's clone and dragging them out from under the dark storm clouds that had gathered above them even as the blonde boy back in the clearing spoke his farewell.

Naruto's technique had called dark clouds together, covering an area of nearly fifty meters, enough that the men and woman around him couldn't escape, especially considering they stuck around until the attack unleashed itself. From those clouds, two things began slamming into the ground. The first to reach the earth were bursts of sharp, cutting wind, similar to the wind used to cut the leaves for Fuuton elemental training. These blades though, were many times larger, and just as sharp. Fifty blades slammed into the ground, tearing it up and slicing through any unfortunate trees, boulders…or people, who got in the way.

And that was how the Rock girl died. One of the blades of wind sliced clean through her, cutting off one arm and most of the leg on that side. As she fell sideways, another one crashed to the ground, tearing through her upper torso and taking off the upper slope of her breasts, her shoulders, and her head. As the two men stared in horror and hastily dodged the following blades of wind, they were pelted with the debris from all of the trees and rocks that were being sliced apart.

As the last blade of wind slammed into the soil, the two exhausted men began to relax, thinking they had avoided the blonde Jinchuruuki's attack. They turned back to look at him to see Naruto shaking his head sadly. This caused the man who hadn't said anything to look up at the sky and scream in terror when he saw what their fate was.

The clouds had spawned two attacks – the wind blades, and now this, the second, even more terrifying attack. True tornadoes ripped down from the sky, utterly destroying the ground. One of the tornado walls actually formed around the blonde boy, obscuring him from sight in the center of the field of destruction. The Rock ninja tried burrowing into the ground to avoid the howling winds, only for their cover to be stripped away, and themselves to be torn from the ground and pulled into the air. Within the tornadoes, the men found that there were dozens upon dozens of miniature versions of the wind blades. The miniscule blades flayed the flesh from the men and began shredding their muscles and underlying tissue.

Minutes after the last pain filled shriek ended, the tornadoes swelled and collapsed. In the center of a large circle of torn, cut, and shattered earth, covered in gore and debris, was an untouched circle of soil, completely clean and looking as if nothing had happened. On that soil sat Naruto, who looked shaken and slightly drained.

Yugito and her teammates moved in closer hesitantly, having seen trees being picked up and flung around like toothpicks and giant boulders blowing like dust in the wind. The force of the technique intimidated them, for they had never before seen a true tornado, only the small ones that were occasionally called up in Fuuton ninjutsu. Walking across the destroyed terrain, having to jump over the trenches that had been dug in the ground, they saw just why it was that the blonde boy had told the female Jinchuruuki to get away.

"This, this is what my power is capable of. Calling one of Mother Nature's most fearsome disasters down upon the heads of my enemies with a single jutsu, my brother and I were both terrified of the power I can wield. And this is with a single element…" Cerulean blue lifted up to gaze at the other Demon Container. "Even the demon within me was impressed by this technique… he went so far as to say if it became larger than this, it would be one he wouldn't mind having under his command." The Nibi's Container blinked at that – despite her having created a few Lightning and Fire jutsu, the Nibi herself had never been interested in learning them. She saw the haunted look in Naruto's eyes and understood then why he disliked the jutsu. He had the same look that she did when she used the Lightning Bolt technique. She turned her heads and gave her teammates a silent signal to step back before turning and kneeling down in front of Naruto.

"Naruto, this jutsu, what did you call it… this Devastation of God, this is the technique that you first took a life with isn't it? And from your reticence, it wasn't the life of an enemy…" Naruto flinched away and stood up abruptly. The male Jinchuruuki strode away without responding to her, and that in itself was enough of an answer for her. She watched as he callously flipped one of the bloody masses over and searched its pockets – at this point, there was no real distinction that could be made between the carcasses of the Rock ninja – and began pocketing the ninja tools that he found.

Both of them paused in what they were doing, Yugito in walking back to her squadmates, and Naruto in searching the bodies, when on the second body he found a thin strip of metal, smooth along two edges of its length, while the other two had tiny catches with seals carved into them. He struggled for a moment to remember where he had seen something similar to this before blinking and realizing that one of the sets of catches looked like it would link up with the metal object that he already had in his possession.

The blonde shinobi pulled out the metal thing he had retrieved from the hollow in the tree that had nearly broken his ankle and put the two side by side. The two metal fragments were of equal length, a little over two inches total. An eagle's piercing cry, loud in the silence that had followed the destruction wrought by his jutsu, startled the boy enough that his hands twitched together, forcing the two edges to collide with each other. He watching in amazement as the seals on the object he had pulled from the corpse suddenly activated and the catches shifted in place, latching onto the catches on the first object and pulling the two pieces of metal together into one seamless whole.

"Wow… do all of them do that?" The two blondes looked up as the boy on Yugito's team asked the question. The innocuous statement lightened the dark mood that had settled over Naruto as he shrugged.

"Don't know. It would be interesting if they did." He looked around and sighed, then shook his head violently, sending the blonde hair that was visible under his hat to move about rapidly. "Anyway, we should get out of here. That jutsu will act like a beacon for teams that want to target someone who is exhausted. Come on, I know of someone who we can work with."

"I guess this is where we part ways then Naruto. We need to get back to guarding Hinata-sama." Naruto nodded slightly, recreating the clones, one open and visible, the second hidden back in the trees, who would accompany the Kumogakure ninja group. They bowed to each other before the real blonde shinobi took off into the trees, heading off in what seemed to be a random direction. Yugito blushed slightly as she watched the other blonde disappear into the trees.

_ Nibi, once we're out of here you are going to FULLY explain what you meant earlier._ The Demon within her blanched at the tone that her container had taken and meekly agreed, a tad fearful of what the Jinchuruuki might do in her current mood. The three Kumo nin and the clone(s) hurried off, knowing that Naruto's comment about other teams targeting this area was very likely to be accurate.

_**Office of the Sandaime Hokage**_

Sarutobi looked like he had aged twenty years in the seconds after Ronnel had asked him why his adopted brother's parentage had been kept from them. He sighed and shakily refilled his pipe before leaning back in his overstuffed chair and closing his eyes.

"It was because of just who his father is." A snort met his paltry explanation, and he knew he would have to expand on it. "Rei-san, his father was a respected man in this village, but outside of it, he was feared. Even our allies were afraid of him, though less so than our enemies were. Of all the people who feared him though, the Village Hidden In the Rocks reacted the worst. After he slaughtered hundreds of them in the Third Great Shinobi War, they declared him an enemy of their nation. If they found out he had a child, then even though the man himself is dead, they would target his progeny without hesitation."

"And did you think I couldn't handle anyone that came after us? You stupid old man, we ran across an Iwa nin within a few weeks of leaving here. He was targeting my ward and I had no fucking clue why!" Ronnel slammed his hands down onto the desk in front of Hiruzen, making the man blink in startlement. "You kept something _vitally important_ from me and my brother old fool, and if I hadn't caught the Rock shinobi before he escaped, then Iwagakure would have found out, before I did!" The Sandaime flinched back, his face, which had been recovering its color while he spoke, paling once more.

"If I find out that you have kept anything, _anything_, else, I will leave this village and I will do my damned best to make sure that my younger brother comes with me. And before we leave, I will show you why I earned the name that I did while I was a shinobi of the Hidden Hot Springs Village." Without a word or even a handseal, the man created five clones that spread out in a semicircle behind him, with all six of them staring at the leader of the village in silence. That was until he realized something about the five clones that startled him. Before he could say anything though, the clones vanished leaving him staring at just the original.

"We're done old fool, and remember what I said about keeping anything from us again." With that, Ronnel spun on his heel and stormed out of the office, leaving a shaken old man behind. Sarutobi sat in the same spot for over a minute, just staring after the Jounin, before shrinking in on himself and standing up. He moved over to the pictures of the other Hokages and brushed his fingers across them, hesitating at the image of his younger self, and stopping completely on the face of the Yondaime Hokage.

"Minato… I did the right thing, didn't I?" The picture just stared silently back at the weary man, incapable of giving him the comfort that he sought.

_**Training Grounds 37 (Adjacent to Training Grounds 44)**_

Ronnel snarled under his breath as he landed on one of the small boulders that lay scattered across the training area. Luckily for the shinobi's purposes, the place was deserted of any other people, probably due to the fact that the Gennin were in the Forest with only a few exceptions, and their Jounin sensei were taking this opportunity to catch up on everything that they had missed going on in each other's lives.

The former wanderer tugged his blades from their sheathes with an angry gesture. He strode over to one of the boulders and drove his claymore into it, nearly plunging the blade completely through the stone. With a narrowing of his eyes, the man focused a burst of chakra into the large sword, activating one of the special tricks that Satonashi had built into it. The grounds were silent for half a second before the boulder flew apart from around the blade, some of the fragments driving down into the soil while others flew through the air.

Ronnel closed his eyes in concentration as he formed a number of clones around him, each with their own copies of the two swords in his hands. They all looked at each other and nodded before turning their eyes back towards their creator, who spun the longsword around his hand and pointed it at the closest one.

Just as the clones were starting to move forward to attack, there was a roaring that shook them all to their core. Dark eyes snapped towards the Forest of Death, and the tanned face turned white when the Jounin recognized the telltale signs of his younger brother's most powerful wide scale technique, and one that he hated using. His hands clenched tighter around the hilt of his blades, but before he could go to find out, and possibly get his brother expelled from the Exams, he heard someone chuckling evilly behind him.

"Kukukuku. That certainly is an interesting blade you have there. I might just take it to use with my Kusanagi once I've dealt with you." The Jounin stiffened and turned around, his eyes locking onto the pale, yellow eyed man who stood there.

"Orochimaru." The single world was filled with venom and hate, enough to make the former Sannin blink.

"My my, I didn't know that I've ever done anything to you. Why is it that such anger flows from you to me?" Orochimaru tilted his head and smiled, the twisted image sending a shiver down Ronnel's spine. He growled under his breath as he realized that the man didn't think he was a threat at all. He tightened his grip on his claymore, the leather-wrapped hilt protesting the action. He brought the heavy blade up and pointed it directly at the Snake Sannin.

"You hurt Ko-chan, you made her cry. You've ruined her life to the point that she feels that she isn't safe to love." One yellow eye cracked open and stared at the angry Konoha shinobi.

"And just who is this 'Ko-chan'?" He smirked, figuring that the girl was just someone he had experimented on with something minor that the village of peace-lovers had blown out of proportions. He studied the young man in front of him, who seemed to radiate anger. The Sannin looked around and knew that if, no, when, they fought he would have to avoid being stabbed by the large blade or risk being detonated like these boulders were.

"Ko-chan is my Anko-hime you rotten bastard. Don't try to act like you don't know her." Ronnel began calming himself down. He knew that if he tried fighting while he was still upset, he wouldn't be at the top of his game, and against this foe anything less than his all would likely get him killed. He drew in a steadying breath as Orochimaru grinned evilly.

"So, you _are_ the one trying to get with my little apprentice." His grin widened and his body shimmered slightly and the Jounin felt a hot breath on the back of his neck. "Let me tell you something little fool. Anko is _mine_. No one else can have her. She is my toy, to use and abuse however, whenever I want." A slug of raw wind chakra burst from Ronnel's back and slammed into Orochimaru's stomach with enough force to send him staggering back. He recovered within an instant and blasted a Fuuton: Daitoppa at the Jounin. He watched wide eyed as the Konoha ninja lifted the hand with his long sword and the wind jutsu he had used seemed to unravel in front of him.

"Wrong snake fuck. Ko-chan is her own person. And I suggest you take this fight seriously, or you'll die." Behind Orochimaru a clone formed from the air and thrust its fist towards a spot on the former Sannin's back. The blow struck, only for the man to dissolve into a pile of mud. Ronnel studied the Tsuchi Bunshin fell apart. He closed his eyes and concentrated on something, and opened them to see the man his Wind Clone had struck before him, a kunai held in his hand.

Orochimaru's eyes shot open when the figure in front of him dissolved into mud. He spun around and jumped into the air, sending out dozens of snakes to strike the Jounin who had burst from the ground behind him. Ronnel's blades danced back and forth, slicing the snakes apart in midair. When he bisected the last one with his long sword, he looked up at Orochimaru who was studying him intently. He raised an eyebrow and gestured for the man to speak.

"How is it that you copied my Mud Clone? I don't see a Sharingan spinning in those eyes of yours." Ronnel chuckled.

"That is my secret Hebi-teme. Now, enough talking. Let us dance." He shot forward, only to watch the other roll aside faster than he could turn. He smirked, the other man playing right into his suspicion. The Jounin twisted his hand holding the longsword around and tossed the blade at where the man would end up when he stood up, following the blade with a strong surge of raw wind that propelled the sword faster.

Orochimaru came out of his dodge to find one of his opponent's swords hurtling through the air at him. He scowled and dropped his shoulder, escaping having the muscles bisected, though the weapon did slice into the upper portion of his arm. The Snake Summoner then smirked, realizing his foe was now down to one of those stupidly dangerous blades. His throat distended as his jaw dropped down.

Ronnel didn't bother watching the man use some strange technique. Instead, he dashed forward, the claymore trailing on the wrong side to do anything to Orochimaru. The Sannin ignored the move, thinking the other was trying to escape. His eyes widened when he realized that around the Konoha shinobi's left hand was a faint swirl of winds that seemed to extend outwards. The Snake King shot to the side, managing to escape the worst of the damage, though now his right arm was partially disabled due to the Wind Sword that the Jounin had activated at the last moment.

"I'm impressed, you can use jutsu that powerful without hand seals or even saying the name of the technique." Orochimaru cackled. Even though it had been him who had suffered so far, he now had what he thought was an accurate gauge on the Jounin's skills, and they weren't enough to defeat him. He quickly finished the summoning he had begun while Ronnel turned around, and drew out the Kusanagi from his throat – or more accurately, the summon that was within his throat. Ronnel's eyes widened as he noticed the blade in the Sannin's hands. If he had any doubts that the despicable shinobi was taking the fight seriously, they were dispelled when he saw the weapon.

"Senai'jashu!" From Orochimaru's hands sprung snakes that wrapped around the Jounin, quickly bundling him up and holding him in place. He brought up his blade and stalked towards the bound man, pointing the tip of the legendary sword to point at the man's heart. Ronnel struggled feebly, his eyes closing as he focused his chakra into the technique that he would need if he hoped to live.

The Sannin thrust the blade forward and blinked in surprise when his snakes around the Jounin were suddenly ripped apart. The Konoha ninja brought his claymore up and smacked it against the Kusanagi, flicking open a water bottle on his belt. As the two blades met, water shot out from the bottle and wrapped around the sword, binding them together. Years of using the massive sword with one hand, along with chakra enhancements, allowed Ronnel to overpower Orochimaru's grip and shove both swords away from the duo.

Now disarmed, the treacherous Sannin jumped backwards, a dark scowl on his face. _Wind, then Earth, and now Water? Skilled kenjutsu and pure elemental manipulation, sudden A-ranked sealless and silent jutsu… this man is easily an elite Jounin, not just a normal one. And I wasn't ready for this, I'm still too weak from taking that Karyu Endan and then using the Cursed Sealing technique. Dammit._ The former Konoha ninja sped through hand seals hampered by the fact that his right arm was still messed up from the two strikes it had taken. The blood flowing from the wounds allowed him to use the jutsu that he had planned though.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" The Snake Summoner's good hand slammed to the ground coated in his own blood. A massive sealing array unfurled on the soil, engulfing the entire Training Grounds. Ronnel growled and wrapped water around both hands, forming blades from the liquid. The summoning array glowed for a second before exploding into smoke that obscured the grounds from sight. As soon as he couldn't see, the Jounin made a dash for where the two swords that were linked together had landed. He scooped them up and, short on time, slammed them into a sealing scroll that he hastily tugged from his pouch. The Konoha shinobi then leapt away, so that the Snake Sannin wouldn't realize what had happened right away.

The smoke cloud settled down to reveal Orochimaru standing on top of a massive three headed snake. The two men stared at each other for a long moment, Ronnel pale with shock and the Sannin smirking in triumph. The mad scientist/ninja gestured with his good hand, and the snake's three heads lunged forward, the center aiming to swallow the single man. The other two were weaving around the center head, giving the former wanderer no way of guessing where they would strike, meaning he had no clue which way to dodge. He closed his eyes and bowed his head, gathering chakra with the intention of slicing through the snake's throat once it had swallowed him.

The snake's attack was brought up short when a giant dog that rivaled it in size landed in front of its victim and opened its jaws wide to unleash a shattering roar. Ronnel looked up in shock and nearly fell to the ground when Kakashi shot out of the trees and landed beside him, his Sharingan spinning at full force.

"Good job Ronnel-san, you've held him up long enough. Reinforcements are here." The man's lips couldn't be fully discerned through the mask he was wearing, but the younger Jounin could have sworn the second was grinning widely.

Orochimaru spun about on his serpent, intending to escape while the summon dealt with the other one and distracted the Jounin. He blanched in fear when he saw a tremendous monkey standing behind his summon, his sensei standing on the summon's shoulder. The old man was wearing his battle armor and in his hands lay his staff, the transformed state of Enma, the Monkey King. A loud crash to his side, and he saw a green clad man standing on top of a giant turtle that didn't look slow at all.

"YOSH! FOUL CREATURE WHOSE FIRES OF **YOUTH** HAVE BURNED OUT! I CAN USE MY SUMMONS TO THEIR FULL EXTENT WITH MY **YOUTHFUL** STUDENT IN THE EXAMS!" Every Konoha ninja there sweatdropped when Gai shouted out, regretting that the psychotic man was one of their most powerful ninja. Those regrets vanished when the turtle's jaw suddenly flashed out as fast as the snake summon itself, the sharp beak biting clean through the neck closest to it. The summon dispelled itself to prevent losing even more of its heads to this new foe.

"Tha…." Ronnel lifted one trembling hand and pointed it at Maito Gai's summon. Beside him, Kakashi nodded.

"Yes. That is one of the reasons that many people regret that Gai is determined to use only taijutsu as long as Lee is his student. He has an amazingly powerful summons, but nearly never uses it because his student can't." The two Jounin turned when Orochimaru burst from the smoke running straight at them at impossible speeds, intending to break through the circle of ninja surrounding him where he knew one of the people was already weakened.

Kakashi saw the death move coming with his Sharingan and leapt out of the way, realizing too late that the other shinobi wouldn't be able to escape in time. He turned back to helplessly watch as someone who might become a friend was killed, and his Copy Wheel Eye showed him what was about to happen.

Ronnel slid into a stance that not even Gai, master of Taijutsu, recognized. As Orochimaru's hand arrowed towards him to pierce his heart, he smirked. His hand came up and his arm wrapped around the Sannin's, immobilizing it and pinning the forearm in his own armpit. He ducked easily under the frantic swipe of the Sannin who was trying to get free, and stiffened the fingers of his other hand. The knife hand jabbed up into the Sannin's arm, striking a muscle group along the bottom. The man gave a cry of pain as his right arm went slack after the Jounin's strike, but recovered enough to use a last ditch technique. Over Ronnel's shoulder, he vomited out a copy of himself. His right arm though, hung limp against his side despite the fact that the two sword wounds were healed. Giving the group of Konoha shinobi no time to react to the disgusting action he had just performed, the Snake Sannin dashed away at high speeds, escaping from his near death.

Ronnel slumped to the ground, exhausted. Just before the Sannin had lashed out at him, he had hardened his skin with the same technique that had protected him from Hidan's old Master when they fought outside of Splinter. He hadn't needed to, but until after the fact, there was no way he could have known. The former wanderer kicked the carcass off of his legs.

"We…can exam..ine that." He panted out as he began refilling his chakra coils. Sarutobi, who had by then made it over to the duo with Gai, nodded.

"Rei-san –"

"Ronnel old man, Ronnel." Hiruzen allowed himself to feel pleasure that Ronnel had quelled his anger and continued speaking.

"Ronnel-san, That was an amazing feat that you just did. You fought one of the Densetsu no Sannin off, and apparently managed to escape any real damage in the feat. Truly –"

"It's not as amazing as it seems Hokage-sama. The traitor wasn't at full strength, I've had tougher fights with the Jashinists. I think he did something that drained a substantial portion of his strength, and then just happened to come across me. If he had used more jutsu, or used his summons sooner, there wouldn't be anyone to come to the aid of. However…" Ronnel grinned, something that considering he just said that if his foe had been able, he would have been dead, was odd to the ninja around him. "I will take pleasure in this." The shinobi pulled out the scroll that he had hastily stuffed down the front of his shirt.

With the other three ninja, and the others who were arriving, watching in confusion, Ronnel held up the scroll and nipped his thumb. He swiped the bloody pad across the seal and let his grin widen when both blades popped out, though now unbound and soaked from the water that had kept them locked together.

"This is my claymore, obviously." The people around him chuckled, knowing he was just about the only person who used the obscenely large sword. The chuckles stopped when he picked up the second sword. "This though, is mine now through spoils of war. This is the famous, legendary sword… Kusanagi. Roachy-chan ehem, misplaced it, and I recovered it." He swung the sword experimentally, and grinned when the blade shortened in response to his thoughts.

"Anyway, if Orochimaru did something that weakened him that much, it means he's preparing something. Which means that the invasion isn't just a ruse, it really is coming. Our advantage lies in that Orochimaru doesn't know that we know. We need to finish our preparations." Sarutobi clapped his hands, the clank of armor getting everyone's attention. The group of shinobi and kunoichi nodded and dispersed. Just as the last of the normal ninja left, Sarutobi gestured for his ANBU who had been tracking Orochimaru to appear. They landed in front of him.

"Apologies Hokage-sama. He escaped into the trees and flooded the area with Mud clones as soon as we lost sight of him." The old leader snapped his fingers in frustration and dismissed the ninja in before him. He looked over at Ronnel who laid on his back, testing out how far the Kusangai could extend by having it shoot into the sky. Hiruzen blinked when the blade shrunk back and there was a crow pierced on the end of it. Both shinobi blinked as the animal burst into smoke, putting them on guard.

When almost half an hour had passed and no one appeared to challenge them, the two men relaxed. Ronnel looked at the Hokage, who nodded his head gently. The Jounin slid the Grass Cutter into a seal on the inside of his coat's sleeve and bowed before heading off to find his girlfriend.

_**Forest of Death – Naruto**_

Naruto skidded onto a tree branch and looked around. He saw a faint trail of sand leading off in one direction. He took off after the path of sand, intent on finding his 'brother'. Along the way, he saw something that caught his attention fully as the second clue was brought to the front of his thoughts. A small red berry was laying side by side with a blue berry and a green berry.

_Near the two and the combined, one can find the second segment._ He grinned, his older brother's lessons on colors coming back to him. He dropped to the ground and dug into the soil beneath the three berries, and his grin became triumphant when he pulled out another piece of metal. It was similar to the first, but the ridges were shaped differently. Without wasting any time, the Jinchuruuki brought out the metal piece that he had, the catches on the combining portion sliding into place and locking the third segment in place when he held them close together. He and Kyuubi blinked in shock as they looked at what the three pieces of metal formed.

_Kyuubi-sensei, it's a…_

_**Yes kit it is. Interesting. Wonder what it's for.**_ The demon and his container looked at the metal object in the teen's hand with curiosity.

_**Truly Despicable Author Style: Cliffhanger Technique!**_

_**AN: Well, we're nearing the end of the second Exam for Naruto. Ronnel has now faced off against the Sannin once, but the man was weakened from his toying with Sasuke. Can Ronnel fight the man off when he's at full strength? That's a question that will be answered another time. For now, we see an example of Naruto and Ronnel's taijutsu style in action against the Snake style, and it is effective indeed. But remember – Orochimaru had been playing around, and because of it, was already wounded by the sword wielder. Things might not go so well next time.**_

_**Reviewer Responses:**_

_**Geetac:**_

_**Hope you enjoyed this one as well.**_

_**Samuraiguy2:**_

_**Well, he'll understand why it happened. He might not be happy with it, but he'll understand. As for forgiving….that's not too certain. But if he does get angry, it'll more likely be at the old man who announced his status to all of the people old enough to hear it.**_

_**Naginator:**_

_**Glad you like the new exam style. How's the technique? (+1 on lemon wanters!)**_

_**Kiyomos:**_

_**Ah haha. Well, it would have worked better if hadn't taken out the gap I put after it between it and the 'psych' line and the real end of the chapter. If you hated that, imagine how it would have been if there was a huge, empty gap before the psych out suddenly appeared. **_

_**NUUUUU! The psycho muse cannot defeat the Truly Despicable Author!**_

_**Two words for you. "SQUIRRELY WRATH!"**_

_**Bleacher:**_

_**Try to include some form time to time.**_

_**Jack:**_

_**Yes, it did take him a significant time though lol.**_

_**Firelordeg:**_

_**Hope you enjoyed this chapter as well good sirrah.**_

_**Fanficreader71:**_

_**Hope you liked this chapter as much.**_

_**Hirochick:**_

_**You'll have to wait and find out.**_

_**Still Not Dead Yet:**_

_**Yeah, it only took him over a year…. And he didn't get crazier, just more powerful. But that won't last long, and Naruto already has a counter to one of Sasuke's tricks, and Ronnel knows how to get around most, if not all of the abilities of the Sharingan. To know how, you'll have to wait and find out.**_

_**I so could have juiced more of a reaction out of on that couldn't I…. darn. Maybe some other time. And yes, it will be her who first figures out 'other' applications for the Kage Bunshin.**_

_**And it's stories like this that normally make me expect Naruto to have to move out of his village just to have enough space…  
Hope you enjoyed the fight scene here. Until next time!**_

_**Lostmyshoeinsheol:**_

_**Eh, bad timing on your part I guess? How was the stuff at the start here? And as for the Despicable Author part… read the message I gave to Kiyomos about that. Ehehehehe.**_

_**James Larthol:**_

_**Yes! I took a hated character and hooked someone on what happens to him! Muahahahahahahaha! Don't worry, things will get interesting for a while. Oh, and in case you're wondering – Sasuke DOES have a Jashin scythe, but he didn't bring it out in his fight with Naruto because he knew the other boy could sense them. And as for that lemon, that'll have to wait for a while, got to get the girls used to each other first. Or maybe I can set it up as a competition between the two… hmmm…….**_

_**Gon Freaks:**_

_**Well, you'll have to wait and see. Naruto won't find out about it until after the prelims. Just remember a certain canon jutsu and it's more powerful big 'sister' that I haven't used yet. That doesn't mean that it hasn't been created.**_

_**mmWaffles:**_

_**I hope you kept reading the story good sirrah/madame. And uhm… aside from tree walking, **_what _**did he teach? Sorry if you don't like how Kakashi is in the beginning, but that changes later on.**_

_**Dragon and Sword Master:**_

_**Huzzah! You have a general idea what will happen – just not what exactly will happen. As much as I would love to use the duel with spoons (resisting urge to battle cry), I have my own plans coming. –evil cackle-**_

_**Phantomreader:**_

_**Here's the next dose of the story, hope you enjoy it.**_

_**SythAngelwing:**_

_**Love the name for the homopedo. And no, Sasuke won't be going willingly with the pedobear wanna-be.**_

_**P.S. Hope everyone liked Naruto's most powerful area attack jutsu. When he activates his lightning chakra, it's going to be even more destructive. Oh, and two cyber-cookies to anyone who can guess who created the Shadow Clone that Ronnel accidentally killed.**_

_**Ja ne!**_

_**-G.T.-**_


	22. Chapter 21

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I don't think my own story will be anywhere near as popular as Kishimoto's is.**_

_**Chapter 21: Within The Forest of Death – Through the Gates!**_

_**Forest of Death – Naruto**_

Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro looked up from something that the kunoichi was holding in her hand when a figure landed behind them. The trio was sliding into guard positions when the redhead recognized the person who had found them. He relaxed and pulled his sand back into the gourd on his back as his brother and sister spotted the bright blonde hair that was sticking out from under the fedora.

"Hey guys!" Naruto's bright cheery grin finished calming the antagonistic reaction that the siblings had had – no one could match him for the warmth found in his smile. The pigtailed blonde smiled back at him, happy that she was near him again. Her face turned beet red when he pulled her into a hug, and she was eternally grateful that he pulled away soon and hugged her younger brother, then shook hands with Kankuro.

"Have you guys found all three pieces?" Nods answered him, but they didn't pull their object out. "So you guys saw what it was too? Sweet! Have any idea what it might be to?" The three glanced at each other, then the six eyes turned back towards the blonde Jinchuruuki.

"Sorry Tomo, but no, we haven't. That's what we were discussing when you showed up." Naruto blinked and pulled out the object that had formed from the three that he had picked up. Temari copied the action and pulled out a matching object. The four people gathered together and stared back and forth between the two objects, and grinned.

"They're identical. Which means that whatever it is that these things open, we don't need other people's for." Naruto sighed in relief as he stepped back and grinned at his friends. "Well then, shall we go find the end?" Kankuro and Temari nodded while Gaara was gripping his head lightly. Just as the others were getting ready to set out for the end of the Forest Exam, the redhead Jinchuruuki's eyes snapped open, their normal hue replaced by on obsidian black. His siblings looked towards him to ask what was wrong when he twitched his hand and sent a thin whip of sand at their throats.

The elder two of the Sand Siblings barely managed to get their guard up in time to avoid having their heads cut off. They were sent staggering back from the force behind the attack, their arms open and bleeding.

"Gaara! What the hell!" Naruto jumped between the other Demon Container and his siblings, his visage dark with anger. When he looked into Gaara's eyes, he realized something. _Kyuubi-sensei… Shukaku's eyes were black right…_

_** Yeah kit, they were, not that funky sandy color. I have no clue what that thing in front of you is.**_ The Nine Tailed Demon snarled angrily as it looked at the Jinchuruuki in front of it.

"Kankuro, Temari-chan, get out of here now! Something else has taken over Gaara, and it isn't the Ichibi!" Three heads snapped to look at Naruto, the older duo in shock that he had found something like that out so quickly, and the youngest gazing at him with unadulterated hatred. Sand shot at him, a spike hurtling towards his gut forming. Just before it struck him, the blonde Gennin thrust his hand out towards it.

"Fuuton: Reppusho!" The wind attack pierced into the sand spike, shattering it apart and scattering the sand away. The Kyuubi Jinchuruuki slammed his palm to the ground, the surge of wind chakra that flew out from him shoving the sand farther apart. As the dark blue, red streaked eyes turned up and met sandy chips, the possessed Jinchuruuki snarled in anger at being denied his kills. Temari and Kankuro leapt backwards, shooting up into the trees hurriedly to watch as the two Demon Containers fought.

"Fuuton: Tei Hakusa." Twin balls of wind chakra formed, one under each of the blonde's feet. He began striding towards the Sand wielder, skating around the attacks and occasionally leaping into the air to dodge a wave of sand. The tips of his fingers began glowing, but just as he got close to Gaara, sand shot up and wrapped into a perfect sphere around the redhaired Gennin. The blonde growled and shot backwards, dodging around the spikes of sand that shot out from the orb.

_Crap. That isn't going to work with that defense of his. I can move fast enough to get around it, but going at that speed the impact would hurt him. I'm going to have to do this on a larger scale._ Naruto sent a surge of chakra into his legs, letting him jump into the sky, nearly reaching the tops of the trees. He quickly pulled out multiple kunai from a seal on the bottom of one pouch and flung them down into the earth. Between the weapons was strung a monofilament thin wire that gleamed dangerously wherever light struck it. The blades had landed in a hexagonal pattern around the redhead, with the blonde teen landing at one end of the area.

When Temari noticed an eye of sand forming above the possessed Gaara's sphere, the girl pulled out her fan quickly and opened it to the first stage. She swung the fan in a tight arc towards the smaller blob of sand, hoping she was in time. The small blade of wind sliced through the Daisan no Mei just before it opened, preventing the controlled boy from seeing what was going on outside of his defense.

Naruto missed this byplay as he began skating around the other Jinchuruuki, one hand skimming across the ground leaving a thin trail of blood. Soon, the blonde's blood connected the six kunai, trapping the redhead inside of a double triangle. The Kyuubi container began sketching sigils into the ground with his blood, now keeping one eye on the orb in the center of his seal. As he finished the final sigil on the last side, he jumped backwards out of the ring of wire formed by the kunai, biting his thumb open again to get a fresh surge of blood.

The older Sand ninja looked on in shock as Naruto slammed his hand down onto the kunai nearest him, driving it deep into the ground, far enough that even the ring on the hilt was buried in the earth. Their eyes widened as the other kunai mimicked the action perfectly and in synchronization with the one that Naruto had pushed down. He then brought the bloody hand down over the pot where the kunai in front of him was and drew his red stained thumb around the weapon's location in a tight circle.

"Fuuinjutsu: Sai!" The entire array of blood on the ground glowed with a dark red light that soon shifted to bright blue. From the liquid that had soaked into the ground, bonds of energy shot out and pierced through the sand defense as if it didn't exist. The sphere of sand crumbled to nothing, revealing that the lines of energy had wrapped around Gaara, one around each limb and one around his neck. The sixth line of energy that had formed had pierced through the seal on his neck, and the sibling's eyes widened when they saw a blue mist being shoved out. Gaara gave a shattering cry before collapsing limply into the hold of the sealing energy, the blue mist behind him forming into a twisted visage that was snarling and stretching impotent arms towards everyone it could see.

The bonds of energy shifted, dropping Gaara to the ground and latching onto the spirit that was floating behind him, already impaled on one. The spirit shrieked as they closed around his arms and legs, and as the last one snapped shut around his neck, those watching were relieved to find out that the energy silenced the spirit. The beam of energy that was piercing through the spirit suddenly twisted, shoving the entity into the ground. Slowly, the six lines of energy flowed together, encasing the spirit in their blue-red light.

Temari and Kankuro dropped to the ground and approached Naruto cautiously as the being in the sealing energy was completely covered in the blue red power. They stood by him and watched as the spirit gave out a final, pain filled yell that ripped through the barrier around it before shrinking in its place. The spirit was crushed into a tight orb the size of a marble. The brother and sister watched on as Naruto picked up a stone and threw it into the orb of matter in the seal. There was a blinding flash of light, and then the deed was done.

"Whatever that was…it's sealed away now." The first words spoken since the sealing began had the other two looking at the blonde boy who seemed slightly off kilter. Naruto ignored the looks and walked over to the glowing rock and picked it up as it cooled down. Etched onto its surface though a means that he didn't want to understand were the sigils that he had painted onto the ground with his own blood. He clenched his hand tightly around it and looked over at the conscious ninja.

"Pick up your brother and come on. We've got to get out of here so no one takes advantage of him while he can't defend himself." They nodded and walked over to where Gaara was lying. They flinched back when the Demon Container's eyes snapped open, staring blankly into the sky above him. They relaxed as the black faded back to their brother's normal dark brown.

"Mother… apologizes." Three people stared incredulously at the Ichibi Jinchuruuki. "The sealing that was done implanted a second human consciousness into the seal." The redhead looked like he was going to explain further when Naruto moved over to him and placed one hand on his chest, silencing him.

"You can explain further when we get done Gaara. For now, we've got to get through the Forest of Death. And it is not named as a joke." The boy on the ground nodded and stood up, staggering slightly from the drain that the possession had put on him. He closed his eyes and concentrated, bringing all of his sand back to him and pulling it back into the gourd on his back. A nod confirmed that he was ready, and the group began running through the trees, searching for the exit.

_**The Apartments**_

Ronnel collapsed shakily into his favorite overstuffed chair, groaning as the full realization of what he had just done fully sank in. Whether or not the other man was weakened for some unknown reason, he had just challenged one of the Legendary Three Ninja, and had done more than just stall the traitor! He reached one hand into his sleeve and activated the seal there, drawing the object stored within it out.

As the Jounin did so, footsteps thudded down the stairs. Ronnel looked up just before a blur shot itself toward him. He shifted the sword out of the way so that whoever was jumping at him didn't get sliced by the deadly weapon. There was a muffled thud, then the sword wielder looked down and smiled at the purple mess of hair buried against his chest. Gently he laid the blade in his hand down on the table and brushed hair away from the face that was turning up to look at him.

"Hey there hime. Did you have a nice nap?" The woman nodded her sleep touseled head and snuggled against him, shifting so that she was sitting in his lap. He wrapped his arms around her waist and dropped his face into her hair, breathing deeply. She giggled slightly as she felt him relaxing and let her eyes drift closed. The two sat together for a time, just enjoying being near each other.

"Ne, Ron-kun." A querying grunt made her giggle again. "Nai-chan wants me and you to join her, Asuma, Gekkou, and Yuugao for a night of karaoke once the exams are in the month pause." One eye slipped open and turned towards her boyfriend, who had his eyes closed as he thought it over. Several minutes passed, with the purple haired Snake Summoner content just to stare up at Ronnel as he thought. Finally he cracked one eye open and tilted it down to catch her gaze.

"Do you want to Ko-hime?" The woman blinked back the sudden tears at that. She ignored the confused look in her love's eyes as she nodded and buried her face against his chest again, choking back a flood of tears. _ He doesn't really like going out and has managed to avoid going anywhere but to the dango shop or the store until now….and now he's willing to go if I want to… Ron-kun…_ She clutched his vest in her hands, molding her body as close to his as she could without moving. The two began to relax again, with Ronnel rubbing his girlfriend's back in small circles, finding sore spots or tense muscles and working them out under his thumb. Slowly, Anko began falling asleep again.

A raucous cry from outside one of the windows made both visibly start, nearly causing Anko to fall from her boyfriend's lap. Her eyes snapped open and shot to the window, but there wasn't anyone standing outside. She looked up towards the shinobi who was holding her tightly, a dark look on his face.

"Konohamaru. He's running from a Mizu Bunshin right now." She giggled at the angry look her boyfriend had, knowing full well that he liked having her fall asleep near him. She turned to look out one of the side windows to see if she could spot the running Konohamaru, happening to glance across the blade laying on the desk next to the chair.

Ronnel felt his love tense up on his lap and blinked in confusion. There wasn't anything about his clone chasing Kon that should worry her so what had caught her attention? He looked down to see her staring with a blank face just to his right. With a soft swallow, he looked down, and sure enough, the Kusanagi was lying there in the open.

"Rei-Uzumake Ronnel." The use of his last name made the young man flinch. "Is that what I think it is?" That blank gaze was turned towards him, and the dead look in her eyes _hurt_ to see. Instead of answering, he pulled her tighter against him. There was a second of silence before she began struggling to get free from his hold. The male Jounin tightened his grip on her, hugging her to his chest.

"Damn it Ronnel! It is the damn Kusanagi isn't it? The favorite sword of the fucking asshat of an ex-sensei of mine!" She twisted around and beat her hands onto whatever part of him that she could reach. The sword wielder took the strikes without lessening his hold at all, simply darting his head forward to kiss her forehead whenever there was an opening.

The lopsided fight continued for several minutes before Anko collapsed in his hold, sobbing openly. Ronnel gave a half whimper at the pain that filled her, and brought one hand up and tilted her face to look at him.

"Anko-chan. That is the Kusanagi, and I got it from the homopedophile as spoils." The tears slowed slightly. "Yes, spoils. As in, we fought, and I got the sword from that." A slow, unbelieving blink, prompted him to continue. "I did fight him Anko-chan. I managed to surprise him a few times with things he didn't expect, and cut up one of his arms pretty well. He pulled that thing out, and I tricked him with a bit of water manipulation, and disarmed him. The bastard got angry with me after that, and finally used his snake summons. Hatake showed up and used one of the lesser known summons of the Dog contract, a giant hound. Damn but it was huge." He shook himself remembering the dog that Kakashi had summoned. "Anyway, that was when the cavalry showed up. Old man Hokage was in his battle armor ready to go, Kakashi was right beside my already going at full throttle, and _that's_ when Gai and his summons showed up."

"What the hell?" Anko shot bolt upright at that, not noticing the groan of pleasure that her action caused. "The Green lunatic has a summoning contract? Why the fuck has no one known of this before?"

"His student, the little Gai-clone, Rock Lee. Apparently because his student can't use ninjutsu, or summoning, he hasn't." The Snake Mistress blinked and settled back down, twirling one finger against his chest for him to continue. "Alright. Turns out that the Turtle Summons that he uses is kinda deadly when used against snakes. Yeah, I know. How right? Well, apparently the Turtles of the contract aren't entirely like their normal brethren. The thing _bit_ one of the heads off of the three headed snake that Orochimaru had summoned. The fucker gave up and tried running, only to find out that the entire clearing was ringed with ANBU. He rushed at me using the Envenomed Claw –" The purple haired Jounin stiffened at the mention of one of the kill strikes of the Hebi style, "- oh relax hun. I proved how good the Kaiheiken is. I not only avoided the strike, I managed to cripple one of his arms. Even when he used that regurgitation trick that healed him, he couldn't use his arm. He managed to escape though because Kakashi had dodged, but… he won't be forgetting this day for a long time." Anko stared in shock at her boyfriend.

"You…you went toe to toe with Orochimaru and managed to avoid getting hurt?" Ronnel smirked at the disbelief evident on his beloved's face.

"Anata, I have made my career going after men who, with even one bloody _nick_ could kill me. Avoiding attacks is just about the thing I am the absolute best at, barring anything except maybe clones." The purple haired woman blinked at him curiously, but decided to ignore the strange comment in favor of the fact that _her boyfriend_ had gone against one of the Sannin and had survived. She dropped her face into the crook of his neck.

"Ko-chan?" Ronnel brought one hand up to her back and rubbed it gently, before realizing that she was crying into his shirt. "Anko-hime, what's wrong?" He shook her gently then sighed to himself when that didn't work. He brought his hand up to her chin and tilted her head up to look into her eyes. Before he could say anything more, Anko's tears dried up and she lunged forward, pressing her lips against his hungrily. As her tongue slipped into his mouth, the Jounin had time to think one thought before giving in to the moment.

_What the hell just happened?_

_**Forest of Death – Naruto & Sand Siblings**_

It was a tired and shaky group who landed in front of a massive tower, with a locked door standing directly before them. Kankuro and Temari were in the best condition, with Naruto just behind them because he had been spamming clones to watch out for the Snake Traitor or the silver haired spy. He had managed to mostly recover, but was still flagging slightly. Gaara was the worst off – his control over his sand was temporarily nonexistent, though Shukaku had assured them when questioned that that only for a short while, and the results of having that other personality sealed away.

The quad of people stared at the doors for a long moment, trying to figure out a way in. Suddenly, Naruto smacked his forehead. When the other three turned to look at him with curiosity in their gazes, he grinned and reached into his shirt and pulled out the object that was identical to the one that Temari was carrying. Their eyes widened as they realized what the blonde male had.

The blonde Jinchuruuki strode forward to the door and lifted the metal object to the center. The door seemed to waver near where his hand was, and the Konoha shinobi grinned widely. He pressed the key against the door and watched as it slipped in between the grain of the wood. A sharp twist and the door opened. The teen sent a wave over his shoulder and moved into the building, wondering what was beyond.

After the door closed, The Sand squad repeated his actions. They moved into the chamber beyond the entrance, the older two grinned at each other, and stumbled in shock when Gaara popped up between them in a sudden move, wrapping an arm around each of their shoulders. A brief tentative hug came from the Jinchuruuki, before he collapsed. Preventing him from falling to the ground, his brother and sister placed their arms around his waist, supporting him.

"We made it Gaara. We made it. And I think that one of your biggest problems was dealt with." The redhead gave a weak smile as he nodded at his sister's words.

"Aneue, Aniki… I'm sorry."  
"Shut up Gaara. You don't need to apologize to us – we're your family." Kankuro grinned widely, happy despite his words. His younger brother looked up at him, pausing a moment before returning the grin. That shocked both of his siblings straight through to their cores.

"Yes….family…" The Jinchuruuki's eyes drifted closed, scaring both of his siblings when they realized that he was falling asleep. For several tense moments, they stared in fear at their brother's unconscious form, terrified of what was about to happen. Time passed in a long drawn out pause for them, only to find out that the Demon within their brother wasn't even trying to get out.

"Temari?"

"Yes?"

"He's asleep."

"Yes."

"And he's not being taken over by the Ichibi."

"Yes." The two hefted their teammate and sibling up higher, then headed after Naruto.

The blonde that they were following after was currently looking around the main chamber, wondering what was going on. The entire building looked like a beehive that someone had poked with a stick – people were rushing to and fro, with some of the Chuunin going so far as to run along the walls. The blonde teen spotted Ibiki shouting out orders in the center of one of the rooms and walked over to him. He waited for the Chief of Torture and Interrogation to pause in his shouting and take a breath.

"Ne, Ibiki-san, what's going on?" The scarred man looked down at the Jinchuruuki. For a moment, he wasn't going to answer the question. Then, he remembered that it was this teen who caught the silver haired spy, and that it was his brother who had been involved in the more recent incident.

"It's about your brother. A short while ago, he was in one of the training grounds." The blonde tilted his head. Sure that wasn't enough to cause this much commotion. "Orochimaru showed up and confronted him. There was a fight between the two, with your brother lasting long enough for back up to arrive. The Hebi took off shortly after that. So now, we have an S-rank criminal loose nearby, but thankfully the ANBU were able to track him out of the village before they lost his trail." Naruto grimaced.

"That Teme wouldn't pull something like that if he hadn't already achieved his primary goal." Ibiki's brow twitched slightly before he waved a hand. _This kid is something else. It took our analysts nearly a half hour to realize that the bastard had already done something. Maybe he can take a guess at it._

"From what I remember in the history lessons Aniki crammed into my head, Orochimaru no Densetsu no Sannin once stated that his goal was to learn all of the ninjutsu in the world right?" The Torture specialist nodded hishead, remembering being near the man before he had turned traitor, and hearing him state that once when asked. Naruto's voice grew cold as he continued his line of reasoning to a dark conclusion. "And don't we have a Kekkei Genkai in this village of ours that _copies_ _any jutsu it sees_? His primary target is the only holder of that Bloodline Limit that he can get to – he's after the Uchiha."

"Fuck." A messenger ran up to the Head Proctor, panic in her eyes. She handed the man the message scroll and took off, soon disappearing from sight. Naruto had watched her go, wondering how she could move so fast and yet easily avoid running into any of the ninja who were all over the place. "Kid." Red streaked eyes turned back towards the older man. "Your guess is the same as our analysts, though you reached it a lot sooner than they did. From all the data we can get on him, Orochimaru is going to try targeting the Heir to the Uchiha."

The blonde Jinchuruuki shook his head. "No Ibiki-san. That isn't it. He's not going to try targeting him. He already has. That man wouldn't go after Aniki unless he had already gotten his first goal finished. Think of it like this – taking out my brother was a secondary, bonus goal, the Uchiha and whatever the Snake bastard did to him was the Sannin's primary task. If he attacked Ronnel-niisan, then he's done whatever he wanted to the duckass. We need to find him."

_**Forest of Death – Sasuke**_

The subject of Naruto and Ibiki's conversation was currently writhing on his back, feeling like liquid fire was burning through his veins. The black haired boy had his mouth open in a silent scream as the pain tore through his body, emanating from the spot where the man he had fought had bitten him. The skin around the mark that had formed on his neck cracked and bled openly, soon forming a small pool of blood under his neck and head.

_Foolish child, control yourself! My power is far greater than that of this tainted seal!_ The powerful voice that sounded inside Sasuke's head preluded the pain from the seal weakening. When the boy could fight down the shakes by himself he sat up slowly.

_Forgive me Jashin-sama, but I am not yet strong in the ways of your worship. This pathetic village's laws keep me from bringing about your glory, but soon I will leave and achieve the goal of bringing you back._ Even as arrogant as he was, him, the Uchiha Heir who would challenge the supremacy of any man who stood before him, from Naruto his former teammate to the Hokage himself, Sasuke was not foolish enough to take his normal tone with a god. Especially not one who had promised to make him far stronger than Itachi ever would be, and even immortal.

_Take out my scythe child. I sense something interesting about this seal, and need my instrument closer to it to inspect it fully._ The onyx eyed avenger obeyed the command, reaching around to the small of his back and activating the storage seal where he kept the scythe he had gained on the bridge in Wave. As soon as the dark weapon was drawn from the seal, the air around him darkened in response to the dark energy pulsing outwards from it. The black haired teen brought the blade of the scythe up to his neck, pressing the tip against the bitten spot. There was another flash of pain as Jashin's power focused more fully on the seal.

_Interesting indeed. There resides power in this seal, power beyond what I thought a pitiful man who didn't worship me could bestow on another. But he is even more foolish than you child, to try controlling one of Interesting indeed. There resides power in this seal, power beyond what I thought a pitiful man who didn't worship me could bestow on another. But he is even more foolish than you child, to try controlling one of __**MY**__ worshippers with a piece of his own soul. Child, cut your neck with the tip of my instrument._

_ But my lord –_

_DO IT CHILD!_ Sasuke gave a small whimper before he obeyed, slicing into his skin where the mark was. His eyes opened wide as the pain from before rushed back, stronger than previously. Now it felt like acid was burning through his body, melting him from the inside out. He collapsed to the ground, the Jashin Scythe held in a weak grip in a trembling hand. The blade was pulsing with a black light that seemed to eat the air around it with each pulse. The Gennin felt what seemed to be a laugh vibrate through the weapon, and trembled.

Then new pain struck him. To the pain maddened teen, it felt as if the very bones in his body were swelling up, threatening to tear open his body. Suddenly the feeling vanished, replaced by a hollow sensation within him, making him think that his bones had contracted to nothing. The teen's eyelids opened abruptly, the sclera of his eyes turning pure black while the Sharingan Tomoe inside of them turned bone white. After several minutes of incomprehensible pain, the shinobi's body collapsed to the ground.

_Ahahahahaha! Foolish little mortal, trying to tread where only we gods are allowed! Child, be glad that you are my worshipper, for if you were not, then your body would have been taken over completely by the man who attacked you, and you would be his puppet. But,you are, and his 'Cursed Seal' has allowed me to do something that I would not have been able to until much later. I have imbued your body with a portion of my power. That energy was absorbed by your Sharingan, changing them into something new. You have the equivalent of a normal Sharingan's third Tomoe, but you won't be able to advance any further. Now child, lift your hand and look at it._ Sasuke obeyed, lifting one trembling hand, still weak from the waves of unbelievable pain that had ripped through him. To his new eyes, the flesh of his body didn't exist – in its place, he could see the muscles and bones under the skin. One spot on his arm was glowing an angry red color.

_Jashin-sama? What is this?_

_ You still have your precious copying power child, but now you have something different added to it. You can see any spot where a person is injured. This will allow you to focus on those spots, taking them down easier. The angrier the color, the more injured the already are. If it is blood red, then their bone is near to breaking._

_ Thank you my lord._

_I am not finished child, do not interrupt me again or I will make the pain from just now seem like a gentle breeze across your skin._ Silence for a long moment as Sasuke whimpered in fear. _Good. Child, you can still use the fool's seal like he intended to, but instead of drawing upon the power of his soul, you draw upon mine. However, this comes as a cost. If you use the seal, your body will become stronger, faster, and deadlier. The price is that your Sharingan will not activate, leaving you without the copying ability, the weak spot detector, and the prediction skill you have from it._ Sasuke stood up, his body still shaking from the pain. He returned the Jashin Scythe to its seal, groaning as his body stretched.

_I cannot thank you enough my lord._ A feeling of gloating triumph pulsed through the Uchiha before he felt his god's presence leave him. He lifted up his hand, activating his new Sharingan to examine it.

"This is my… Hone Sharingan." He smirked, his normal attitude returning with the absence of Jashin's focus. He deactivated it and turned around, only to stumble back as an ANBU landed in front of him. His smirk returned when he saw the mark on the center of the mask.

"Uchiha-sama. We are to carry out the order of the Hokage and take you to the Exam Tower. You are given a by due to the interference of the treacherous Sannin Orochimaru. Danzo-sama wishes to speak with you about the seal that you were inflicted with." Sasuke nodded and held out one hand. The Ne ANBU grabbed the boy's wrist and the two vanished in a swirl of leaves.

_**AND END!**_

_**AN:**_

_**Well, there it is. Naruto and the Sand group have made it through the Exams, as has Sasuke because of the traitor. Sasuke has his Sharingan and seal, both changed because of his connection to Jashin. **_

_**Hone Sharingan – Bone Copy Eye Wheel. (Bone Sharingan). This is Sasuke's Sharingan, he cannot advance to the Mangakyou stage because of Jashin's alterations to his eyes. So no, he won't be getting any of the Mangekyou attacks that he uses, no Amaterasu, no Susanoo, and definitely no Izanagi. He gets the ability to see an enemy's weak points though. And yes, whenever he activates his cursed seal he will lose the Sharingan's modifications, not the Sharingan itself. That means that whenever he is in his CS mode, he'll be stuck with the first stage of the Sharingan. **_

_**Hope everyone enjoyed the scene where Anko found out what happened!**_

_**Reviewer Responses:**_

_**Anyone who has (::) next to their name guessed right and got a cyber cookie.**_

_**Umbra8191:**_

_**Hope you liked this one too.**_

_**Raidentensho:**_

_**Yeah, Roachy is pissed about the fight, though he hasn't realized that Ron has the Kusanagi yet. And that is just a possibility!**_

_**Call015: (::)**_

_**Not a summon, but right person.**_

_**Naruto Reincarnate:**_

_**Sorry, not Kabuto. Remember, Naruto lopped him in half and he's now in prison.**_

_**JKArcanus: (::)**_

_**Bingo! And yes, that jutsu will be insane when he gets more elements. Not sure about getting water, but remember that when 'Ruto is being influenced by the Kyuubi he gains Fire.**_

_**Algebraiya:**_

_**Don't worry, Ron's almost up there. And yes, as soon as he sees his little brother he'll tell him.**_

_**ElRusso:**_

_**Thanks! This is one of three translations I got, and right now it's the one I'm leaning towards using in the future.**_

_**Still Not Dead Yet: (::) (::)**_

_**Yes, yes he does. See response to JKArcanus for a bit more on that mother. And I thought about hurting the snake a bit more, but in the end, he had to get away for the story to continue. And the extendy sword is something that Ron will have fun with next time he fights Orochimaru. And yes, you guessed the right person.**_

_**Not entirely sure what you're referring to when you talked about clarifying Roachy and Anko's relationship, but hey, you liked it so I'll go with it! Thankee. And yes… the erhem, 'lego' thing is indeed a key to the main tower. You're the first person to guess that, so you get double the cookies. **_

_**And, I realize that I came off a bit harsh to Waffles, and I apologize for it. But I have yet to understand what it is that Kakashi trained Naruto in – Naruto's attacks are the same up till Jiraiya takes over, but I didn't know about that thing with Jiraiya, so I probably just flubbed up and missed it.**_

_**Firelordeg: **_

_**Hope you enjoyed this chapter!**_

_**Lostmyshoeinsheol:**_

_**I suggest NOT listening to music when reading this then lol. But yes, what made Naruto hate the Devastation will be revealed later, when Ronnel learns that it was used. And Ronnel gave a hint as to his power in that chapter during his fight against Orochimaru, so don't count him down just yet, even if he counted himself down lol.**_

_**Fanficreader71:**_

_**Hope you enjoyed this chapter too.**_

_**Fury074:**_

_**-blinks- Did not know that lol. Chicken Coop… I can see why but… eh. If it comes up again I'll figure it out. Thanks!**_

_**Kiyomos:**_

_**Uh…what is what?**_

_**Dragon and Sword Master: (:**_

_**Well, you got it right, then wrong. It isn't the old cripple, and yes, I did give an easy one lol.**_

_**You saw how quickly the Nibi went quiet lol. And yes, the Devastation is S-rank, and will just get stronger later on.**_

_**Sorry about that, but I didn't know what other strengths the Kusanagi had besides 'cutting through anything but Sussanoo's sword', so I gave it another power. I didn't even think about the Shinso until you said that.**_

_**Xenos the Shadow Wolf:**_

_**I know exactly how you feel – many times I have done just that, and ended up walking around the next day in a haze because of it. I hope you didn't have to eat your words with this story, and have kept enjoying it while catching up with the new releases. I don't think I pulled a Bugs anywhere, so I should be good… lol… Anyway, I hope I've kept up the awesomeness that you've found so far!**_

_**Dzk87**_

_**Thanks.**_

_**James Larthol:**_

_**Her time is coming. And a competition eh? Hmm… may have to put that to vote….**_

_**EbonPurlight:**_

_**Glad you enjoy it. And no, Naruto doesn't get any less dense lol. Well, he might, in time as the girls keep trying to get his attention.**_


	23. Chapter 22

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. He'd know more than the Kage Bunshin and Rasengan in the first part if I did.**_

_**Chapter 22: Preliminary Fights – Fight for Your Right to Fight!**_

_**Forest of Death – Central Tower**_

It was two days later when the last of the keys to the central door was used, announcing the end of the second stage of the Chuunin Exams. The various ninja from the different villages were summoned down to the main chamber of the tower in order to discuss the third and final stage of the Exam. The room quickly filled up with the shinobi and kunoichi from the Hidden Villages, showing that there were only a few teams left.

On the foreigner side, there was the Kumo squad, with the normal kunoichi looking slightly battered and bloody; the Sand Siblings, looking the best out of all the foreigners in attendance; a trio of ninja from Otogakure, who were currently shooting glares across the floor to where the Konoha shinobi were; and a group from Kirigakure, one of whom was currently fingering a blade that looked similar to the Kubikiri Houcho.

Standing on the other side of the proctors from them were the Konoha teams. Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji were standing there looking slightly nervous at the glares from the Sound ninja; while the target of those glares, Sasuke, merely snorted and tossed his head. He winced in pain for a second when the action tugged on his wounded neck, but covered the action. The other blonde laid a comforting hand on Ino's shoulder, and the Yamanaka Heiress looked over at Naruto to see him smiling widely under the brim of his hat. Hinata was matching the Mist shinobi murderous look for murderous look, making those who hadn't seen the new side of the shy girl do double takes.

Shino stood by his squadmate's side, his appearance relaxed and slightly bored to anyone who didn't know him. Naruto though, knew that the Aburame Heir was worried about something, for the dark glasses of the Insect Clan leader kept tilting towards the enemy side, despite that normally the male would have kept his focus on the proctors. Kiba was crouched next to Shino, running one hand through Akamaru's fur as the dog alternated between growling and whining.

The Konoha Jinchuruuki looked down at Akamaru, who was standing next to him, then followed the pup's gaze across the floor to where the Kumo group was standing. He nearly broke out laughing when he saw that the person who had Akamaru's attention was Yugito. The Jinchuruuki kunoichi was glaring at the small dog, and Naruto could see that once or twice the girl was close to hissing at the puppy.

Standing on the other side of Hinata was the last of the Konoha teams that had made it through the Exams. Rock Lee stood closest to the Hyuuga Heiress, and was babbling about 'FIRES OF YOUTH"™ as he looked around anxiously. Beside him was Tenten Higurashi, who was fingering the edge of a scroll that was on her hip as she watched the other people around. The last member of the squad was looking around haughtily, as if everything, even the proctors, was below him. Naruto scowled when the teen looked at Hinata, and for a moment his gaze turned venomous, mixed with something that the younger teen had not seen in quite some time – deep, thorough, sorrow. He blinked at that, wondering what was going on there, between his 'imouto' and her cousin.

There was the sound of someone clearing their throat, causing all of the Gennin to swivel their heads to where Ibiki, Iruka, and a figure with a mask on were standing. Ibiki grunted when he saw that all eyes were on him.

"Alright maggots, this is where we have a small problem. You see, the true Chuunin Exam Finals are in one month. But, only the best of the best will be shown. And how will we decide that?" The Head Proctor smiled darkly, making a few of the Gennin shudder. "By preliminary matches. Today, we will be having those preliminary fights. Only those who survive today will be able to pass on to those final fights, will be able to have the chance to show just how powerful your village is to the leaders of the Shinobi Nations." The Gennin began tensing up with anticipation, even Shino and Gaara, the two most stoic people there.

"Now then everyone, we need all of you to proceed up the stairs at the side of the room to the stands. The first contestants will be called down in a moment. Your proctor is me, Umino Iruka for those of you who are from out of this village. If I say the match is over, don't even think about continuing." The man with a scar across his nose stepped forward and took the attention. A sharp glare made the younger ninja scatter and head up to the stands, with the groups from outside of the village wondering why such a harmless looking man had scared them so thoroughly.

Naruto sat down in the stands and snuck a glance across to where Temari was talking with her siblings. He sat for a short bit, watching her with a small smile on his face before he turned his gaze down towards the center of the chamber. His look was largely unnoticed, but one girl did see it, and that teen scowled at the focus of the blonde Jinchuruuki's stare.

"ALL RIGHT, LISTEN UP FOR YOUR NAMES! INUZUKA KIBA AND AZANAMI KANUTI REPORT TO THE FLOOR!" Iruka's voice filled the stadium. The Dog Bonded Gennin jumped down to the floor of the stadium, looking eager. It was the already battered Kumogakure kunoichi who walked down the stairs at the other side of the room, looking decidedly nervous. The two moved to where the combat proctor was standing, waiting for them. He looked between the shinobi and kunoichi, and nodded.

"You two ready?" A pair of nods, slightly hesitant on the part of the girl, answered him. He smiled benevolently at them and nodded back. "Alright then, HAJIME!" He leapt backwards onto the statue as the fight began.

Kanuti opened up by unleashing a barrage of shuriken at the duo facing her, forcing them to dive apart of get stabbed. She didn't let up, following Kiba, who she saw as the true threat, with her attacks. The hail of shuriken was soon interposed with kunai and senbon. In the stands, Tenten looked on curiously at the other girl who was using the same style as her. She frowned when she realized that this girl didn't have any scrolls on her, and was soon going to run out of weapons to throw.

And sure enough, that happened. Kiba grinned at Akamaru when the girl brought her hand around with another throw, but nothing came. She looked down at her hand, a betrayed expression flitting across her face. Kiba strode over towards her, his hips swinging slightly as he swaggered close and smirked at her.

"Looks like you're all out girlie. You lose." He brought his hand back to punch her in the face when suddenly he paused. He was staring at the smirk on her face, one that was larger than his own. The Inuzuka Heir didn't understand why she was so triumphant when she was out of weapons when he heard Akamaru whimper and press himself closer to the ground. Finally his eyes saw that her hands were in a sign position, one that he only recognized because he had been playing around with Naruto – as in, running around as the Jinchuruuki pelted him with stones in evasion training.

"Oh shi-"

"Fuuton: Yadama Fuurusegeiyo." He matched his dog's whimper as he began sprinting frantically around the room as the needles that she had thrown shot back towards him. Tenten's eyes widened, and she heard Naruto chuckle. She looked over at him with a questioning look, to see him shake his head with a small gesture to say he would explain later. The weapon mistress's eyes turned back down to see that the small needles were shooting in straight lines, turning in lazy loops to chase Kiba who was running from the hundred plus needles that were gleaming faintly with a liquid of some kind.

The Inuzuka boy was planning rapidly. To test something for the plan that was forming in his mind, he ran straight at the girl, then hurdled over her. He turned around to watch as Kanuti's eyes widened before narrowing as she turned the needles in a loop around her, having to dodge by a certain margin to avoid getting hit by some of them. He grinned and began running again, his plan now fully formed.

The bonded human ran past his partner and tossed something to the ground. The eyes of his teammates in the stands opened in shock when they recognized the object. The Kumo girl though, did not recognize it, and ignored it like she had been ignoring Akamaru all along. Thus, she ignored the barking sounds that Kiba made, and the answering yips from the small dog. The eyes of everyone in the stands turned to the dog though, watching as he ate the object and began growing, and turning red.

Kiba taunted the girl, flitting back and forth, diving just under the senbon at the last moment, constantly nearly getting stabbed by the needles. He grinned when he looked towards the girl and saw Akamaru lunging at her from behind. The shinobi turned and began running at her just as Akamaru connected.

The canine's canines sunk into Kanuti's calf as he dug his paws into the ground to immobilize her. She cried out in pain and turned to look at the enlarged pup in shock, only turning around in time to see Kiba jumping over her again. She frantically began changing the currents of wind that were controlling the senbon, but with the dog's teeth in her leg, the kunoichi couldn't dodge the stragglers. Her arms came up in time to block them, but the liquid she had coated on them, a paralysis agent, quickly set in and locked her muscles up. Kiba walked back to her and rubbed his pup's head as he caught her and gently laid her down.

"It was a good move, but you shouldn't have ignored my partner." He chuckled and looked up at Iruka, who was nodding.

"Shousa, Inuzuka Kiba!" The masked proctor from before appeared from the shadows, a small particle of ice clinging to one shoulder. The figure brushed the chip off and knelt by the paralyzed girl, quickly and efficiently removing the senbon. Kiba helped the masked person pick the girl up, and watched as she was taken to the medical bay to wait out the toxin. With a shrug, he began picking up all of the weapons that she had thrown at him, Akamaru helping once the pill he had eaten wore off. Both were careful of the toxin on the senbon, but still picked them up. With one last nod, he took off to the medical bay.

"Alright, the next fighters will be…Iichiro Santuko and Kinuta Dosu." This time, the contestants were one of the Mist ninja, and one of the Sound ninja. From the stands, once she saw that neither her teammate nor the object of their guarding was in the fight, Yugito took off to the medical bay to check on her friend.

Tenten sidled over to where Naruto was sitting. The fedora wearing Jinchuruuki looked over at her and smiled. They were silent as Iruka began the fight, then the blonde's peace was interrupted.

"Alright, please please please explain that!" The kunoichi gave the shinobi the dreaded Puppy Dog Eyes Technique, and nearly crowed in triumph when the boy sighed and nodded. He stood up, confusing her until a twist of his hand told her to follow him. The two walked down to one of the corridors, where Naruto leaned against one of the walls and tilted his head back.

"Ok, I'm only going to go over this once Tenten-chan. That was a decent wind Ninjutsu, one that, despite its ease, isn't used much by people who know more. It's called the Yadama Fuurusegeiyo, or Projectile Control. It allows the user to create currents of wind that, like the name states, control the projectile. That was one of the best uses I've seen done with it – she picked the senbon back up from a dead start which isn't easy to do, then followed that up by enhancing the speed of the senbon to slightly better than most Chuunin can run. Unfortunately for her she was put against one of the fastest people in this village, or she would have had him. The only sore point was the turns, but those are probably the hardest part of that technique to get down. And I would bet that from this, she'll work harder on those turns." The weapons mistress listened with shock written on her features.

"So why did she control the senbon and not the kunai or the shuriken?"

"Valid question, and easy to answer. The shape, and weight. Light, thin things are obviously going to be easier to control than heavy, bulky things. And yes, if you want, your sensei can test you for your element, and if you have Fuuton, I'll teach you that one." The pointy object lover giggled maniacally at that, not noticing when Naruto backed away from her with a small amount of trepidation in his eyes, before spinning around and sprinting back to the stands.

He arrived to see Dosu standing over his opponent, triumphant as he pointed his right arm down at the beaten shinobi. He had a kunai in his hand and was about to finish the task of killing the boy when Iruka appeared next to him and sent him flying into a wall.

"I said the match was DONE Sound brat!" His eyes flicked over the stands, looking at each of the shinobi and kunoichi. "The next person who keeps attacking after I say the match is over will automatically forfeit and let their opponent pass on, even if they were the ones who won. In addition, your teammates will suffer penalties if they fight after you." The other two Sound ninja looked at Dosu angrily, as did several other ninja. The now bruised boy staggered back to his seat and collapsed into it, glaring around at everyone. The masked figure appeared again, once more carrying the defeated to the medical bay.

_**Hey kit, you have realized who that it right?**_ Naruto blinked as the Kyuubi spoke, caught completely unawares by the question. After a moment of thought, he nodded with a smile.

_Haku-chan. I was wondering what she was doing._ The blonde boy's eyes were locked back down onto the field as the next contestants were called down.

"HYUUGA HINATA AND MOMOCHI BAKINE, GET DOWN HERE!" The sword wielding Kirigakure ninja grinned evilly as he jumped down. Three people in hearing range stiffened – Sasuke, remembering the girl who had toyed with him and the man whose arm he had cooked during a ceasefire, Naruto who couldn't believe that there was another Momochi that Haku and Zabuza had never mentioned, and Haku, who was staring at the boy in shock.

Hinata walked down the wall and settled into an open stance in front of Iruka, who nodded at the quiet girl. Bakine drew his sword and planted it in the ground in front of him, giving everyone a good look at it. It was similar in appearance to the Kubikiri Houcho, but what had been hidden by the sheathe on his back was now revealed. The circle from Zabuza's blade was changed, the smooth edges of the other blade replaced on this one by jagged razors. The curve at the end of the Decapitating Cleaver was gone completely, replaced by blade on the back end. That smooth blade was the only part there smooth – the rest of the edges were all razored, and gleamed darkly in the light.

"I see you like it blondie! This, this is the true Kubikiri Houcho!" Naruto snarled angrily at the open claim that defiled the blade that he had fought beside, and against. Hinata looked up at her 'aniki' in the stands and saw the anger on his face. Her eyes traveled back to the shinobi in front of her.

"That was a stupid thing to do. Iruka-sensei, could you please begin the fight?" Everyone who knew Hinata, from Iruka, to Naruto and her teammates, and even Neji, stared at the girl in wide eyed shock. She had just spoken a complete, full sentence more than two words, with stuttering!

"Ok….who is that, and what has she done with my imouto?" Neji blinked as Naruto's anger dissipated into shock. He nodded at the question, the stick in his ass removed temporarily by the shock. His closed his eyes, then opened them into to show the whites of the Byakugan. There was a pause, then he blinked again in shock as he canceled the Doujutsu.  
"Naruto-san, that is truly my cousin. There is no Henge, nay, there isn't even chakra being used right now." Iruka caught the words from the prodigy of the Hyuuga clan, and nodded to himself.

_The sleeper has awakened eh?_ He grinned. "Hajime!"

_**(AN I thought about cliffhanging it right here….but then realized I might get people with torches and pitchforks after me if I did… soooo here.)**_

Bakine moved first, tearing his version of the Kubikiri Houcho _**(AN From here on, it'll be called the Ripper) **_from the ground and swinging it in a wide arc at Hinata. The bluenette ducked under the blade easily, throwing herself towards the shinobi to get into his guard. He lashed out with a foot, not noticing that when the girl rolled to the side, she poked several points along his outstretched leg. He did notice that when he tried standing on his leg, it felt awkward, as if half asleep. Shaking off the feeling of unease, the Kiri-nin darted forward despite the sudden handicap and backhanded Hinata across the stadium floor.

The pale eyed girl recovered quickly, growling her own frustration. Somehow, this person was able to ignore the fact that he shouldn't be able to use his leg. _Is he like Aniki?_ She thought about the only other person she knew that could do that, but shook it off. She took a deep breath as the male rushed at her, opening her eyes to show the prized Doujutsu of the Hyuuga clan for the second time in the stadium. She gasped when she realized why the boy had been able to ignore the damage she had dealt, but her revelation was cut short as the ninja swung the Ripper overhanded at her. She rolled to the side, dodging narrowly, wincing when she felt the edge of the razors cut through the skin of her hand.

"I'd use the Kirigakure no Jutsu on you, but those damn eyes of yours could pierce through mine easily. I don't have enough chakra control to flood out your sight." With a snarl, the shinobi darted forward again, this time palming something into his off hand as he spun around, the blade tearing through the air with a nasty sound. Hinata ducked under the blade again, wondering why he was trying that now that she could see where his tenketsu points were.

The question in the girl's mind was answered when the boy flung pepper into her eyes with his second hand. The Byakugan whites were flecked with black and brown specks now, blinding the girl as her pale orbs watered from the pain and the irritants. She flung herself backwards, pulsing chakra into her legs to escape. She cursed mentally, knowing that without her sight, she couldn't match this taijutsu psycho who moved as fast as her cousin's teammate _**(With the weights on)**_.

"Proctor, I forfeit!"

"Shousa, Momochi Bakine!" Bakine's thoughts were filled with bloodlust though, and like a fool, he ignored Iruka's words. Before he had taken two steps though, ice formed under his feet and sent him crashing to the ground. He recovered quickly and was about to lunge towards his target when a hand grabbed the end of his sword, ignoring the blades tearing into the flesh.

He looked up into the eyes of the Kumo shinobi, his eyes widening when he saw the lightning crackling around the boy's body. Electricity tore through the Ripper into Bakine's body, sending him spiraling backwards, his muscles going lax as he crashed to the ground again.

" I warned you, you little idiot. Due to forfeit, Shousa is now Hyuuga Hinata! And the Kirigakure kunoichi Miranu Reishio will now be unable to use any physical weapons in her match!" The kunoichi that had just been named leapt from the stand directly onto her teammate, driving her knee into his stomach making him spit up blood. The people around watched dispassionately as she pounded her fists into her unresponsive squadmate, who was rapidly becoming bloody and bruised. Then the pain from Hinata's attack finally sank in, and combined with the abuse from his vengeful squadmate, the man sent up a cry of pain. The girl stood up and stalked back to her seat, spitting at Bakine as she left.

Bakine struggled to stand up and achieved it after several minutes. He stumbled over to where he had dropped his sword, only to find a blonde boy wearing a fedora holding it with the blade pointed at him.

"This is not the Kubikiri Houcho. This is a mockery of a beautiful blade. Proctor, I would like to request that the preliminaries be put on hold temporarily, I want to duel this bastard for this blade." All of the people in attendance started at the tangible anger in the Naruto's voice. Iruka looked upset, and was about to deny the request when Ibiki appeared beside him in a swirl of wind. The Head Proctor pulled the Battle Proctor aside and spoke to him in low tones.

"I suggest you allow this Umino-san. This kid needs more punishment than what we can give him, but a duel works around that nicely. And as a second reason, if you don't allow it, there might be an assassination." Iruka looked angrily at the Torture And Interrogation chief.

"Naruto wouldn't do that! He's not the fox, he wouldn't kill over not being allowed to duel." Ibiki shook his head and shot a glance towards where Naruto still stood with the Ripper pointed at Bakine, who was losing the fearful look and having it replaced by an angry one.

"I wouldn't be entirely sure about that Umino-san, that is more than just anger, that is hatred pointed at the Kiri nin. But no, it wasn't Naruto I was talking about. It was your medical ninja helper, Haku. _Momochi_ Haku, and she is even more angry at that kid than Naruto is." Iruka looked towards where the masked figure, Haku, was standing, and blinked to see that there was a growing field of frost spreading out from under her feet. He sighed when he realized that if he wanted to stop a sure death, he had to put the Mist ninja into a duel where he was likely to die.

"Hai, hai. Fine. The Preliminaries are reorganized. Naruto will fight against Bakine, for advancement to the final rounds." Bakine's grin grew feral as he realized that he wasn't out of the running. "Everyone but those two, get out of the field." Hinata stepped around the Kumo shinobi, wondering why he had stopped the attack, but shaking off the curiosity in favor of her 'Aniki'.

"Naruto… don't do anything stupid…" The blonde boy just turned his head enough that she could see his face. When he knew she could, he gave a dark smirk that sent a shiver down her spine. The masked figure placed a hand on the Hyuuga girl's shoulder, and the two vanished in a plume of icy air. The Cloud ninja jumped back to the stands as Ibiki left the field, leaving Iruka, Naruto, and Bakine standing on the arena floor.

The Jinchuruuki drove the blade into the ground and stepped back, gesturing for Bakine to take it. The Mist shinobi snorted and looked at Iruka, who glared at him.

"Contestants ready?" Two nods and Naruto cracked his knuckles. "Alright then, battle four: Uzumaki-Rei Naruto versus Momochi Bakine, HAJIME!"

_**Forest of Death – Damage Investigation Squad**_

Ronnel grumbled as he and Anko jumped through the trees, wondering once again how the two of them had gotten tagged for this duty. He looked over at Kakashi who looked just as irritated as he did, though it was harder to tell through the mask and hidden eye.

"Come my YOUTHFUL FRIENDS! Our FIRES OF YOUTH must burn brightly for the task our Hokage has given us!" And then there was the fourth and final member of their squad, blazing through the trees ahead of them as if he was literally on fire. The sword wielder shuddered slightly, before chuckling at the reason that Gai was making sure to keep a reasonable distance between himself and Anko.

_Taijutsu psycho should have known better than to interrupt Ko-chan when she's getting frisky. On his head be it – whoa. That had better not be what I think it is._ Ronnel whistled, the distinctive modulated sound of the Konoha ninja squad causing the others to halt in their tracks. Gai jumped back to where the rest of the group was, making sure to place both of the other men between Anko and himself.

"Got something guys, massive damage done to an area about forty meters to the east." They nodded and the squad took off, soon arriving at a clearing. Anko, Kakashi, and Gai looked around with appreciative looks once they realized that the clearing was the result of a jutsu going off.

"Wow, something like this must have been the work of a whole squad of Gennin. Though I didn't know that there were three wind elementals on the same squad, they've got to be one of the foreign teams." Anko and Gai nodded in agreement at Kakashi's assessment. "Alright, let's figure out just how much damage was done so we can classify it. Though I think it was the strongest attack used out here, we have to be sure."

The three began moving about the decimated area, taking in the size of the gouges in the ground, how many there were, and the debris that looked to be trees that had been shredded.

"This..w-was the work of one shinobi…. Radius of fifty meters…those lumps that Gai just walked to are the remains of humans…. Wind Technique, rank S…" Anko, Gai, and Kakashi stopped and looked back to where Ronnel was kneeling on the ground, his forehead resting on his knees. Anko was the first to realize that her boyfriend was actually shaking in his spot, looking for all the world like a little Gennin who had been tagged with far too much Killing Intent.

"There is no safe place within this fifty meter swath…if there was anyone else in it, they'd be dead as well. It would take S rank control of wind to even hope to defend yourself from it… It's indiscriminate, and destroys anything, and anyone, caught inside, save for a small circle at the exact center, where the user of the technique lies." Ronnel's shaking was getting worse as he spoke. Anko stood up from the trench she had been judging and approached him cautiously. When she got to where he was and laid a hand on his shoulder, she watched in shock as the man who defeated nearly immortal men, who had challenged a monstrous freak strong as a Kage, seemed to collapse to one side, unconscious. The three conscious ninja looked at each other in clear worry, before the two men nodded at Anko's unasked question.

The Snake Mistress picked up her comatose boyfriend and began running through the trees to the medical center. Gai and Kakashi looked at each other.

"Ok..what the hell was that about?"

"Most unyouthful language to describe a youthful problem….but I do not know, which is most unyouthful of me."

"Gai, too much youth." The green clad shinobi gave a cry at the silver haired man's statement, and began running through the clearing shouting about challenges. Kakashi sighed and returned to cataloguing the devastation around him, wondering who it was that had used this, and why Ronnel had reacted so badly to seeing it.

_**Forest of Death – Tower Stadium**_

__Bakine was struggling to pull his blade from the ground where his opponent had stabbed it. Naruto had spent the last ten minutes just walking back and forth, bored as he watched his opponent grunting and panting as he tried to get the sword out of where he had placed it. He was growing bored with just waiting, and was getting ready to actually do something.

Just as the Jinchuruuki was about to attack, Bakine succeeded in pulling the blade from the ground. He brought it up and around to point it at Naruto, and whimpered when he saw that the blonde boy had his own sword out and pointed at him.

"Lesson one. Kenjutsu." Sasuke blinked from the stands as he heard the words from their first fight against Kakashi, rephrased and tossed at a foreigner. Bakine growled and lunged forward, trying to drive the Ripper into Naruto. The fedora wearing Gennin brought his strange blade, with one real bladed edge and one blunt edge, up and easily deflected the wild thrust. His second strike was a backhand blow that sent the Mist ninja stumbling away, wincing as he gripped his chest.

The Kirigakure shinobi attacked again, spinning his blade around in a spiral as he twisted his body around, trying to catch the blonde off guard. The blade wielders glared at each other as Bakine's attack was dodged. The Kiri nin immediately threw pepper from the his pocket at the ground again, only to find that Naruto hadn't ducked – he had jumped straight up. The boy barely had time to blink in shock as the strange blade thudded into his shoulder, nearly slicing the limb off. The sword that he claimed to be the Kubikiri Houcho fell to the ground from lifeless fingers. Naruto landed softly beside it, his normally blue eyes, now half red. The blonde Jinchuruuki reached down to the ground and picked up the sword as he sheathed his own.

"You're pathetic. You claim this to be the Kubikiri Houcho, you claim to be a sword wielder by claiming that blade's name, that _man's_ name as your own? You aren't worthy of either. You didn't even pass the first lesson – you fell into a rut, something that no sword wielder who fights a shinobi can do. The price I'm extracting is this – forfeit." The shinobi growled and dashed forward, shouldering the surprised Uzumaki-Rei away and snatching his blade form the ground. Before Naruto could react, the Ripper tore through the flesh on his leg as Bakine brought the blade up from the ground. The two injured shinobi glared at each other as Naruto drew out his blade again.

"Fine then. Lesson two – Genjutsu." Naruto slammed his open hand to the ground, pulsing his chakra through it. Bakine watched in shock as the ground rippled as if made of water instead of stone. He pulled his eyes back towards Naruto only to see that the other had vanished. From around him came the blonde's voice.

"Demonic Worldshift – Quickstone." The name of the genjutsu confused the Kiri nin. He tightened his one handed grip on his version of the Kubikiri Houcho as he looked around, trying to find where his opponent had gone. He tried taking a step to turn around, only to find out that he couldn't move his feet. He looked down and saw that his feet had sunken into the ground, and the name of the technique made sense. He tried focusing his chakra to disrupt the genjutsu, but before he could flare it to disrupt the illusion, he felt the blunt edge of Naruto's blade trace across his ribs, distracting him completely.

In the stands, the people watched in shock as Bakine began dropping to his knees though Naruto hadn't truly struck him. He began screaming loudly as he fell to the ground, with Naruto watching dispassionately from beside him. Naruto's coat swished as the blonde Jinchuruuki sliced the razor sharp edge of his sword along his opponent's back, cutting through the cloth and fabric there to split open the flesh of his back.

The illusion on the Kiri shinobi vanished as the pain swept over him. He went from being trapped in the stone of the stadium floor, to lying on his back with blood flowing down his back. He staggered to his feet as Naruto clucked his tongue and shook his head.

"That's two lessons you've failed. You fail the third, and you lose."

"Naruto…he's playing with the Kirigakure ninja, isn't he…" It was Hinata who spoke softly, to her teammate Shino. The Aburame Heir considered it for a moment, before nodding his head slightly.

"Indeed. It appears that something about this boy angers him greatly, beyond just him hurting you. That sword, the Kubikiri Houcho, seems to be the focus of that anger." Hinata nodded sadly as they watched Naruto shatter the illusion on Bakine.

"Final Lesson – Lesson three: Ninjutsu." Bakine stood up after a moment, glaring at his opponent as he gripped his sword weakly. His eyes opened wide when he saw wind begin swirling around Naruto's sword. "_Kiba no Bakufuuinu!_" The wind lanced away from the sword, rushing straight at Bakine. The Kirigakure ninja barely brought his sword up in time to block the attack. The Ripper was shoved against him by the force of the attack, and he watched in shock as cracks began appearing on it. The fury of the attack hadn't dissipated when the false Kubikiri Houcho snapped in two. The foreign shinobi only had time to gasp in shock as the Wind Fang pierced through his chest, puncturing one of his lungs and ripping out of his back in a shower of blood.

"Shousa….Uzumaki-Rei Naruto…" Iruka's words were un-needed. Bakine was struggling to breathe, while Naruto was limping towards him. He picked up the half of the Ripper that had fallen to the ground, then continued to where Bakine was laying on the ground. "Naruto, the fight's over! If you do anything else to him you'll be disqualified!" The blonde ignored Iruka's shout as he bent over and pulled the other half of the sword from the Mist ninja's grasp. He straightened up and limped back to the stands. Medical ninja were rushing onto the field, hurrying to save the Gennin's life as Naruto climbed the stairs. He sat down in his original spot and noticed that everyone was staring at him.

"What?"

_**AN: And thus ends the first chapter of the battles. This should run through the next two chapters unless I get writer's block and just chop it now that Naruto's continuing. Who saw the bit with Bakine coming? So far as I know, the new Momochi and Kubikiri are unique, with the closest thing being when the blade changes completely for Naruto in Pudgypudge's (Thanks!) story, 'Master of the Zanbatous'. Hope you all enjoyed it!**_

_**Reviewer Responses:**_

_**Geetac:**_

_**Glad you like the chapter, hope you like this one as well.**_

_**Still Not Dead Yet:**_

_**Would that be talking about the talk with Yugito? Or maybe having to slaughter Stone nin? Or maybe even the sealing? Lol, no, if it was easy it wouldn't be the Forest of Death.**_

_**And no, no he isn't. Not one bit.**_

_**Thankee. Wasn't sure I handled that right, but hey, I know that these upgrades are unique.**_

_**Enjoy the cookies Tomodachi. Hope you like this update as well.**_

_**Naginator:**_

_**I thought about it, and the only person I can see him being respectful to is a god, especially one that promises to make him immortal. The girls' time is coming soon, very soon muahahahaha. Hope you enjoyed the start of the prelims.**_

_**Umbra8191:**_

_**Hope you enjoy this chapter as well.**_

_**Knightofwind:**_

_**Glad you enjoyed it! I don't think I've read one with the Uchiha going to Jashin, normally it's Naruto. Tried something new.**_

_**Lostmyshoeinsheol:**_

_**Yeah, the sealing method was changed because of what Naruto was trying to do. He'll do the normal ink and paper seals for most things (the barrier seals he used back in stage one) but for the big stuff, he's going to do things like this. Wondering if you had a weird music moment when you read these fights lol. Enjoy!**_

_**Firelordeg:**_

_**Hope this chapter meets what you're expecting!**_

_**Kiyomos:**_

_**No no no. **__**That's**__** not what it was, **__that__** is.**_

_**No- I'm not on facebook.:**_

_**For this story, the mad priest was separate from Shukaku, not actually changing him. In fact, the Ichibi resisted the mad priest, and that led to issues. Yeah, no Mangekyo here, only Itachi and Madara have them. Yes, that means that the Warhawk does not have his arm of Sharingan. Hope you enjoy this chapter!**_

_**Samuraiguy2:**_

_**Trust me, I know. But relax, I have plans for the Uchiha. But here's the reasoning – for the first stage, the duckass still hasn't done anything that turns public opinion against him. When one of the ass-kissing ninja saw that the idiot was working alone, they helped him out. For the second stage.. uh, it was because an S ranked ninja attacked him. If Roachy-chan had attacked more Gennin, then things would have been different. As it is, only Sasuke was put at a disadvantage by taking on someone of the psycho's caliber. **_

_**Again though, don't worry. He's going to get the smack down soon.**_

_**Fanficreader71:**_

_**Thanks. I'm trying to keep my story new and original, well, as much as I can after the ideas I've already taken (and given credit for lol). Hope this chapter is as good.**_

_**Sythangelwing:**_

_**He won't laugh but it will be a 'WTF' moment. And Orochimaru..sorry tomo but you'll have to wait and see what happens to the homopedo. **_

_**Gon Freaks:**_

_**Thankee! Hope you enjoy this chapter too.**_

_**FANATIC1229:**_

_**I hope that most people didn't. I gave a clue or two that he would be getting a new eye, but kept what it would do to myself. And yes, the Uchiha brat will NEVER get Mangekyo. He could become a freaking saint with dozens of best friends then go kill them all in one shot, and not activate it.**_

_**Hope the work is still good.**_

_**Dragon and Sword Master:**_

_**Uh..funny 'haha' or funny 'strange'? Because when I decided the Kusanagi's power, I hadn't yet caught up to where Gin reveals the Shinso's power lol. I felt like a noob when I found what ya meant.**_

_**-looks down-**_

_**Anyway. Yeah, new eye, new skills and what not. Unique, but **__**THIS GOES TO ALL: I don't mind if someone else uses the Hone Sharingan so long as they at least mention my story.**__** That aside…the eye won't come in until he has left Konoha – remember, Naruto can sense Jashin's power, and the Hone Sharingan is filled with that power. Cover blown lol.**_

_**Ja ne!**_

_**Alright, this is a message to one of my favorite reviewers who hasn't peeped in a few chapters:**_

Nayami-chan? If you're still reading this, I hope my story didn't take a turn that you dislike. If it did, I'm sorry. That said, I'm hoping that all it is is that you haven't been able to review lately.


	24. Chapter 23

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Wish I did, but I'm not Kishimoto. –sighs-**_

_**Chapter 23: Preliminary Fights – Fight for Your Right to Fight part 2**_

_**Forest of Death: Tower Stadium (Seats)**_

"What?" Naruto looked back and forth at the shocked looks his friends were giving him. There was silence, before Ino said what they were all thinking.

"Naruto, what the hell was that about?" The fedora wearing blonde seemed to sink in on himself for a moment as he tried to figure out what to say. Finally, he shrugged and began talking.

"That…person… claimed to be from the same family as someone I respect. And he claimed that the blade he was using was one of the few swords that both my brother and I admire. That wouldn't have bothered me so much, but the fact is that there is no way that he was who he claimed to be – Zabuza-san told me that his family was killed during the bloodline purges, though he wouldn't say if it was because he had a bloodline or if someone took the opportunity to eliminate them. He held his younger brother in his arms as the boy died, his chest torn apart by an explosive tag, his heart missing along with a good chunk of both lungs. That boy's name was Momochi Bakine, and Zabuza-san buried him with the rest of his family. And the Kubikiri Houcho is a thing of beauty, not that ripping monster that I've got here." The blonde tapped the pieces of metal that were laying at his feet. "That person was lying through his teeth, and not very well. He broke the last straw when he almost killed Hinata-imouto." He shrugged and turned his attention back to the floor of the stadium, where the medics had managed to stabilize the Kirigakure ninja long enough to remove him from the field.

` "All right, we have the Suna team, two people from Cloud, plus the other two from Sound and one more person from Kiri. That's nine foreigners left; while we have Shino, Lee, Neji, Tenten, Ino, Shikamaru, Chouji, and Sasuke left over here, making eight. Kuso, if I hadn't fought the wanna-be Bakine there would have been even numbers." The blonde Jinchuruuki stood up and leaned over the rail in front of him. "IRUKA! I'LL FIGHT AGAIN!" The man blinked and did a quick count and came up with the same numbers that Naruto had. He nodded to the blonde boy and looked up at where Ibiki was standing, and saw the Head Proctor nodding.

"ALL RIGHT! THE NEXT COMBATANTS ARE: SABAKU NO GAARA VERSUS AKAMICHI CHOUJI!" Chouji paled as he looked over at the redheaded boy who was carrying a gourd of something that was as large as he was. Naruto grimaced before jumping up and sprinting around the stadium walls making everyone blink as he suddenly appeared next to the Sand shinobi.

"Hey Gaara. Go easy on him ok. If you do, we'll play two games that you pick when this is over." The younger Jinchuruuki looked at the blonde boy with a blank expression, and his siblings feared that he would revert.

"Four games."

"Three games." Naruto grinned as he bargained with the other Demon Container. Temari and Kankuro were stunned, unbelieving as they watched what was going on right next to them.

"Three games and a hug." This time the blonde boy laughed out loud and clapped the redhead on the shoulder. He nodded to the other two, winking slightly at Temari, then turned and shot back around the stadium to the Konoha side. The Container of the Nine Tails had turned around in time to miss the blush that spread across the blonde Sand kunoichi's cheeks as she watched him go.

Back on the Leaf side, Shikamaru and Ino were trying frantically to get Chouji to go down into the stadium before Iruka forfeited him. They looked up as Naruto appeared beside them and laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Get on down there Chouji, you have a family name to uphold." The large teen blinked twice at that, before heaving a deep sigh and standing up. He looked at his teammates.

"I have to do this huh?" Two nods answered him. "Troublesome." Chouji's face broke out into a grin as he ran down the stairs, only a step ahead of a furious Ino. The girl stomped back up the stairs to her seat and glared at Shikamaru, who merely shrugged. She spun around to face Naruto.

"What the hell was that all about any way? Why did you go over to that side? Trying to give them clues about how we work?" Naruto sighed and rubbed his face.

_ Ok, I know she's ticked because Chouji pulled out a Shikamaru line, but really? To try taking it out on me?_ He looked up and flicked the girl in the forehead, stopping her rant short. Shikamaru nearly burst out laughing when he saw the confused look on his female squad mate's face.

"Ino, the only person I _want_ hurt here is the Uchiha. Don't!" He flicked her forehead again before she could start shouting about Sasuke. "I went over there and saved Chouji's life. Sabaku no Gaara is a killer, truly. He feels no qualms about it, and is down in the Bingo Book as 'Untouchable'. This doesn't mean he can't be hurt, but it's almost impossible and no one has really found a way to yet. He's not Gennin rank, he's closer to Kage actually. So, instead of getting angry at me, try _thanking _me." He turned around and watched as Gaara floated down from the stands on a cloud of sand.

Iruka looked back and forth between the two shinobi, one of whom he knew well, the other he knew not at all. He took a deep breath.

"Contestants ready?" Twin nods. "All right then… HAJIME!" He shimmered back to the statue. The two on the floor stood still for a moment, before Chouji nodded and flashed through his family's hand signs. His arm swelled up and shot out at Gaara, attempting to catch him off guard. A plume of sand rocketed out from the gourd on the redhead's back and smacked the hand away, sending it crashing into the wall. Chouji deflated his arm and glared at the boy in front of him, who matched that glare with a blank look.

This time, both of Chouji's arms and hands swelled up as he clasped them together and brought them up. When he swung them down, his hands were more than three times his full body size, and aimed straight at Gaara's head. Again, the sand reacted, this time by creating an arc of sand that hovered a few feet above his head. The sand shield was shoved downwards, but the attack wasn't able to reach Gaara.

Chouji was growing frustrated. Few people could withstand that kind of attack with little trouble, and this boy had done it without even breaking a sweat, or even looking like he was having difficulty. He growled his anger as his body began swelling and he pulled his arms inward. The Meat Tank shot towards Gaara, who merely blinked at the immense rush of flesh running at him. He twitched his hand, creating a small ramp of sand that sent the Meat tank careening off to the side.

When the Meat Tank rebounded off the wall and came straight back at him, the Sand Jinchuruuki finally reacted. He rolled to the side as Chouji slammed into the ground where he had been standing. He sighed and placed his hand against the ground and sent his chakra out into it.

_Tomo owes me for this. Those three games are going to be long ones._ The redhead sighed as Chouji rushed at him again, the massive attack launching from the ground. Again, Gaara created a sand ramp, but this time, the ramp shot the Akamichi Heir towards the ceiling. When Chouji bounced from the ceiling and crashed down, he slammed down where Gaara had been. The Jinchuruuki had merely walked a few feet away, his plan complete as the Konoha shinobi plummeted to where he had been. He watched blankly as Chouji tried getting his spin up to move again, and nodded when the floor under his cracked to reveal what the Suna ninja had done.

Under a thin layer of stone, Gaara had created a pit of sand. Chouji fell into this pit, unable to get the traction that his technique needed to continue his attack. He stopped and climbed out, and found that the floor around him was rapidly turning to sand as Gaara placed his hand on the ground again. The Ichibi Jinchuruuki looked up, tilting his head slightly. He brought one hand up and pointed it at Chouji.

"_Sabaku Souso._" Sand shot up from the floor and wrapped around the other ninja. Chouji growled and expanded his body again, sending the sand flying away from him. Gaara's eye twitched as he brought both hands up.

"_Sabaku Souso!_" An immense pile of sand wrapped around the expanded boy, leaving only his head exposed.

"SHOUSA SABAKU NO GAARA!" Iruka hurried to get the words out to prevent the death he thought was coming. Everyone, including Gaara's brother and sister, watched in awe as the normally homicidal Sand ninja instantly released the technique, sending the sand back to the floor. Chouji blinked in shock before collapsing into a dead faint as he realized how close to death he had just come.

Silence reined in the stadium before laughter could be heard. All eyes snapped towards Naruto who had fallen off of his seat, holding his sides as he shook. The person nearest him, Ino, helped him up with a questioning look.

"Ga-Gaara…" The fedora wearing blonde picked up his hat which had fallen from the ground and put it back on as he got control of himself. "Sorry, inside joke. You wouldn't find it funny at all." He blinked and looked down at Iruka.

"NE, IRUKA-SENSEI! SHOULDN'T YOU CALL THE NEXT FIGHTERS DOWN?" The scarred Battle Proctor blinked and looked at the blonde boy in the stands. He noticed movement from one of the corridors and watched as Kiba, and then Yugito, finally returned from the medical ward. He frowned, wondering what would happen if the Inuzuka fought someone who had fought while he was gone, but shrugged it off in order to do what Naruto suggested.

Gaara had headed back to the stands and had just reached his seat when Iruka's voice reached him.

"SABAKU NO TEMARI AND UCHIHA SASUKE ARE THE NEXT COMBATANTS! GET DOWN HERE!"

_**Forest of Death – Tower Medical Ward**_ _**(AN – This happened during the fights, it's what took Kiba and Yugito so long to get back)**_

Kiba stared in shock at the blonde girl in front of him as he staggered backwards. HE pointed a trembling finger down at the girl lying on the cot between them, and then jerked his finger back towards the stadium.

"Are all three of you a part of this?" A nod made the feral boy sigh and drop his head into his hands.

"The blonde boy already knows. You don't have to tell anyone, he didn't." Kiba gave a bark of laughter at the foreign girl's words.

"Don't base all of us on Naruto. That guy pretty much makes his own rules, because he is honestly at a better level than us. And I mean that in more ways than just actual skill and strength. Naruto, despite whatever it is that he went through while he was away, is a better person than the rest of us are. He's got this… nobility about him, that just makes him so different we can't treat him the same. And besides, he doesn't have a clan he's responsible too, just himself and his older brother, maybe that purple haired Jounin and the medical ninja here." He sighed again and ran his hands through his hair worriedly. Yugito seemed nervous as she watched the boy in silence for a few minutes as he thought.

"Look. I won't go and out you, right away. I'll give you guys a week after these preliminary fights to tell someone who is in a position of authority. If you want my advice, find the guy I just mentioned – Naruto's older brother. He's way strong, and he is a lot like blondie in that he's a good guy. If there's anyone who can help you, it's him. If you haven't told anyone when seven days have passed, I'll go straight to the Hokage." Kiba looked up and caught the Jinchuruuki's eyes with his own. "Oh, and one more thing – tell Hinata as soon as you can. I don't give a fuck about the rest of the Hyuugas, but Hinata is my teammate, and a damn sight better than the rest of them. If anyone in this village is near as good a person as Naruto, it's her. She deserves to know."

Yugito sighed and nodded slowly. She made a mental note to follow the other blonde Jinchuruuki long enough to find out who his brother is. When she knew that, the Nibi Container resolved to speak to him as soon as she could. With another check on the unconscious girl laying on the bed between them, the two ninja left the room. They arrived back in the main chamber of the stadium in time to hear Iruka's shout.

"TEMARI NO SABAKU AND UCHIHA SASUKE ARE THE NEXT COMBATANTS! GET DOWN HERE!"

_**Forest of Death – Central Tower, Stands**_

Naruto shot to his feet, his expression unreadable even to Hinata, as he watched the former Squad Seven member stalk down into the stadium, a dark smirk etched into place on his face. The crimson-streaked cerulean orbs twitched up to track the blonde girl as she headed down the stairs on her side of the stadium, one hand resting lightly on the fan that was strapped to her back.

_Kyuu-sensei…this fight is going to be interesting._

_** Why do you say that?**_

_ Temari-chan has the advantage, but the Uchiha has unknown skills. Temari might win because she has all of that sand around to help with her techniques, but the Uchiha has already shown that he has unlocked his Kekkei Genkai, even if it is only at the first Tomoe stage. That means that he can predict her attacks to a certain extent, but won't be able to copy them – most of hers are based off of her weapon, something the Uchiha can't copy until third Tomoe stage._

_**I'd ask why you know so much about a bloodline you don't have, but then I remember that your brother and I taught you about it. **_Naruto chuckled slightly as he watched the fight begin.

Temari moved first, almost as soon as Iruka had jumped away. Sasuke was reaching for a scroll on his hip when the blonde girl's fan swung, kicking a massive wave of sand at him. The onyx eyed teen threw his hands up to protect his eyes from the stinging sand, then gasped as something slammed into his stomach and threw him away from the sand cloud. The Uchiha skidded across the floor and caught himself, checking his belly tentatively. There was a bruise forming there, in the shape of a foot. He growled as he realized that Temari had kicked _him_, the Uchiha, in the stomach.

Acting quickly, the black haired boy pulled his normal scythe from the scroll on his hip. Once again, he could feel his former teammate's scrutiny on his weapon. He smirked before turning his attention back to his fight. His eyes widened as another wave of sand rushed at him, but then he smirked. The Uchiha Heir swung his scythe in a circle, channeling pure fire chakra through it. The fiery energy was unleashed as a gout of flame that scattered the sand speeding towards him. He immediately the sharp blade down, expecting to catch Temari's leg as she kicked him again. Unfortunately for his tactic, the Sand kunoichi knew better than to try the same trick twice. Instead, a soft phrase caught the psychotic boy's attention.

"Fuuton: Kamaitachi no Jutsu." This time, it was a small tornado of wind that tore into his guard. The Jashin worshipping teen tried disrupting the wind technique with another fire strike, only to cry out in shock when his fire was absorbed into the tornado, turning it into a pillar of fire that slammed into him. The explosion of wind and fire threw him backwards again, this time with his hair and clothing on fire.

Temari watched with a bored expression as Sasuke dropped to the ground and rolled back and forth frantically to put out the flames. She turned her eyes towards the scythe that he was using to fight her, and flicked out a small burst of wind chakra that sent the weapon tumbling away. When the Uchiha managed to stand up and stumble over to where it was, he started in shock when he saw that it wasn't where he had dropped it.

"I don't know how you managed to get to this stage of the fights, but it's obvious that you don't actually deserve to be here." Black eyes snapped up to glare at the blonde girl as the shinobi raced through hand signs. Several eyes in the audience widened when the boy shouted the name of his technique.

"Kaiton: Karyu Endan no Jutsu!" Out from his mouth came the head of a giant eastern dragon, formed of flames. The fire dragon roared before rushing at the Suna kunoichi, who immediately dived out of the way. Her eyes widened in fright when the dragon head twisted around to chase her. She began running through the sand dunes that her brother had created in his fight. The blonde girl ducked under the flame beast as it swooped low and turned around in the air to reorient on her. She grinned maliciously as she thrust the end of her fan into the ground.

_That asshole wants to pull out A-rank moves? Try this B one on then._ "Fuuton: Tatsumaki!" Wind sprang up from under sand, creating a geyser of sand that intercepted the Karyu Enda. Fire slammed into sand, the dragon head roaring as it was blocked from its target. Soon though, the fire dissipated against the column of sand. To the audience, the point of impact was actually glasslike now from the heat.

Sasuke panted as he sank to one knee, unbelieving of that fact that both of the people he had used his strongest technique on had managed to survive it – one through sheer strength, and this newest one by blocking it with another element. He staggered back to his feet and drew out his kunai as he finally activated his Sharingan, wincing at the chakra drain that the Doujutsu created.

In the stands, Naruto stiffened as his hated teammate activated his Kekkei Genkai. His eyes slid to the girl that he was slowly admitting that he was interested in to see how she would handle the bloodline.

Temari merely grinned as the Uchiha Heir activated his eyes. When her team was picked to represent Suna in these Exams, they had been warned that there was a high probability that there would be a Sharingan wielder to fight them. She had taken that knowledge and immediately researched how people had countered the Sharingan before the Uchiha clan was massacred, and discovered that of the villages, one stood out as best at countering the cursed eye.

Kirigakure. Their shinobi had fewer techniques stolen from them, coupled with higher chances of surviving battles with Uchiha. She had dug deeper, permitted to as the Kazekage's daughter, and finally figured out the reason why that was. The Sharingan couldn't copy what it couldn't see. True, it did enable one to see better than a normal human eye, but it had nowhere near the piercing power that the Byakugan did. Mist ninja had done so well against the Copy Eyes simply because their water aligned ninja could flood the area with mist, making it thick enough to block sight.

She didn't have a Water affinity, but fortunately for her, she had something just as good. She swung her fan in giant arcs, channeling only a trace amount of wind chakra through the metal and reinforced silk. The gusts of wind kicked up the sand on the floor, making Sasuke flinch and guard himself, expecting another sandblast. Temari didn't move beyond filling the air with more and more sand, not even taking one step towards the Uchiha.

From his seat, Naruto chuckled as he watched how Temari planned to counter the Sharingan. It would work against someone like Sasuke, who only had the first Tomoe active, hell, it would do well against Kakashi even, but that man would be able to see through it to a degree. His lips stretched into a smirk when the center of the stadium floor was hidden beneath the sand cloud that Temari had created, with little light entering, and no one outside of it able to see in.

Temari closed her eyes against the sand in the air, cursing herself for not remembering that the sand would be a double edged sword against her own sight. Still, she was a Sand ninja, and living in the desert taught one how to function while in a sandstorm. The blonde girl pulsed chakra to her ears to enhance her hearing to the degree she would need, then concentrated on the sounds around her. Her breath stilled as she listened for her opponent.

There! He was rushing for the edge of the sand cloud, hoping to get out so that he could see. The kunoichi grimaced and realized that if she was going to finish this, she would have to do it quickly, before the sand settled back to the ground. She nearly smacked her forehead when she remembered that all she would have to do is create wind currents in the cloud to keep it active, but she would still need to get to the boy before he escaped.

Sasuke meanwhile was rushing for where his Sharingan could see more light filtering into the sand. Suddenly his sight was filled with darkness before he was sent staggering back from a fist crashing into his already wounded stomach. He gasped for breath and choked on the sand that flew into his mouth before that same fist crashed into his jaw and made him bite off the end of his tongue. The rest of his mouth was filled with the disgusting taste of a mixture of blood and sand as the fresh wound bled freely.

The next blow was a foot crashing into his knee, smashing it backwards and snapping the patella. The pain of having his knee shattered, combined with that from his damaged stomach and shortened tongue, joined with the chakra exhaustion that was setting in, forced the boy to deactivate his Sharingan. He fell down onto his good knee and looked up as the sand finally settled enough for him to see, moments too late to save him from his opponent.

Just as Sasuke's eyes turned up towards her, Temari planted her foot on his face, sending him to the floor in an ungainly heap. Blood flowed from his mouth and smoke drifted from his ruined clothes and hair. The Sand ninja snorted and turned away from the now unconscious boy.

"SHOUSHA SABAKU NO TEMARI!" To all who were concerned, Iruka's announcement was completely pointless. It was obvious to anyone watching that Sasuke had been defeated, though it seemed that Temari was drained from the match. She barely made it to the bottom of the stairs leading up to the foreigner side when her legs gave out and she collapsed to the ground.

Naruto vaulted over the rail and dashed over to the girl's side, picking her up and slinging her arm around one shoulder. The blonde haired girl looked up at the other blonde and gave him a weak smile.

"Sorry about this…guess adrenaline was keeping me going." The Jinchuruuki just grinned at her as he helped her up the stairs and into the seat by her brothers, ignoring the glare that Kankuro sent him as the puppeteer sank back into his seat grumbling about speedy blondes.

"It's fine Temari-chan. I got to watch you put the beat down on my Duckass former teammate. That more than makes up for any inconvenience, which by the way, you aren't." Looking at the smile beneath the red streaked blue eyes, Temari couldn't help herself. She darted her head forward and pressed her lips against the blonde boy's for a brief moment, then jerked back and blushed. The girl was just starting to apologize when a finger placed itself over her lips. Her eyes flicked up towards Naruto to see that he was blushing too. He shook his head quickly and mouthed 'later' to her, then shot back to the home side of the stands.

_**(AN: Would it be too evil of me to cliffie it right here? But I am reminded of DASM's warning about who would be targeted….hmm….)**_

_**(Can't risk it lol. Read on!)**_

He sat down, ignoring the curious looks that the other Konoha shinobi were sending him. They hadn't been able to see what had happened to well, only that Temari had leaned forward before sitting back, and that Naruto had shaken his head. Meanwhile, there was a full on conversation going just as the next two contestants were called.

"HIGURASHI TENTEN AND METRONOLI LAZUN REPORT TO THE STADIUM FLOOR!" Naruto tuned out the fight in order to focus on his discussion with the Kyuubi, who was currently ignoring the 'Sensei' title and was leaning towards annoying elder sibling.

_**Well well well kit, looks like there is **_some _**hope for you after all.**_ The demon's mental voice was heavy with amusement. It chuckled to itself as the boy's avatar glared at it.

"FIGHTERS, HAJIME!" The fight was beginning like the others, but another voice rang out making everyone blink.

"GO TENTEN-CHAN! SHOW HIM YOUR FIRES OF YOUTH!™" The weapons girl glared up at her teammate.

_Well Kyuubi-sensei…. I honestly have no response to that one. _

_** Kit, you've seen the girl in her birthday suit. That reminds me, are you ever going to tell her about that? You at least know how much your Ice wielding friend saw….**_

_ NO! No no no no no! Not any time soon Kyuu! Maybe, __maybe__ if our relationship advances but…girls are scary. Aniki has taught me that much._ The mighty spirit beast began laughing hard at that as Naruto's avatar crossed its arms and banished itself, reawakening Naruto to the real world.

His cerulean eyes cracked open in time to see Tenten peppering her opponent with dozens of weapons of all kinds, and the boy scrambling to avoid them and get close to her with the sai in his hand. He growled and brought up one hand and channeled a pulse of raw electric chakra through it, sending a bolt of Lightning chakra at the girl obsessed with pointy objects. For a moment, Naruto thought she was going to freak out at the elemental manipulation, but instead of frantically scrambling like the blonde thought she would, Tenten calmly threw a chain of kunai through the bolt. Each successive metal object stripped a portion of the electric charge away from the blast of energy, until by the time it reached her, there was nothing left in it to hurt her.

Meanwhile, the Kumo shinobi had paused to take a breath as his attack distracted the weapon mistress. He was not expecting her to dispel his attack so easily, nor in the manner she did. The teen grunted and gripped his sai tighter before dashing in at her, hoping to catch the kunoichi off guard before she could start up her relentless onslaught again. He blinked when a blade whistled in front of his face, bringing his charge up short as he avoided having the metal slice into his flesh.

Tenten twirled the weapon in her hand and grinned at the Cloud ninja. Attached to a short black staff were two sweeping sword blades, a true double sided naginata. The blades faced opposite of each other, meaning if she spun the weapon around both sharpened edges would slice through whatever they hit. _**(AN – Think uhm… Darth Maul's lightsaber, but only one edge on each side is sharp.)**_ For a long moment, there was silence. Suddenly the boy rushed back and began sending bolt after bolt of Raiton chakra at Tenten, who merely sighed and dodged the first few as she tucked her melee weapon away.

From the small of her back she drew out two scrolls and tossed them up into the air. Quickly the kunoichi bit through the flesh on each of her thumbs, then caught the now open scrolls easily.

"Sorry guy, but it's time to end this. Ninpo: Ni Ryuu!" From each scroll came dozens of weapons that collected together to form draconic looking skulls. The Kumogakure shinobi gulped then looked over at Iruka.

"Proctor, I forfeit. I haven't got anything that can match that." He scowled as he spoke, cursing the fact that many of the girl's weapons had traces of rubber somewhere, enough to disrupt any electric blasts he might try. And since he wanted to keep some secrets down until they were absolutely necessary, he couldn't beat her.

"Shousha, Higurashi Tenten!" The weapons mistress shrugged and pulled her weapons back into the scrolls and tucked them away. She bowed to the other ninja, and Iruka smiled at the first….peaceful end to a match since they had started. Tenten returned to her seat, nodding at her teammates before sitting down.

"NARA SHIKAMARU AND HYUUGA NEJI, GET DOWN HERE!"

_**(AN And this part, I am cliffing. More fights next chapter!)**_

_**Konoha Apartments**_

Anko looked at her boyfriend, who had finally managed to get himself under control again. The Jounin shinobi was pacing back and forth along the carpet, mumbling to himself and looking towards the Exam stadium every so often. Finally she got fed up with the way he was acting and strode over to him and grabbed his shoulders, spinning him around to face her.

"Enough is enough! You acted more scared of the results of that jutsu than you were of Orochimaru! What the fuck is up with that?" Ronnel froze and stared at her for a long moment before he seemed to crumble in on himself like a deflating balloon. He shrugged out of her grasp and sank down into his favorite chair and buried his face in his hands.

"It's really simple Ko-chan." He drew in a deep breath the reached his hands back to pull off his shirt. The shinobi bent over further, showing Anko his back. She stiffened at the sight of his scars, though she had seen them before, laying beside him late at night. The Snake Mistress watched as one arm reached back again and trace the longest scar, one that stretched from his left shoulder down to his pantline, the rest hidden by his trousers.

"That technique gave me this, and nearly killed me."

_**(Despicable Author Style: Cliffhanger Technique!)**_

_**(AN And end! There it is, the start of why Ronnel and Naruto hate the Devastation jutsu so much. Hope everyone enjoyed the next few Prelim fights, think they'll only last one or two chapters more. After that, we'll have a little down time and some training before the Finals. How did everyone like the conversation between Kiba and Yugito? **_

_**Oh yeah:**_

_**Ninpo: Ni Ryuu. – Ninja Art: Two Dragons. This is actually an advancement of the Twin Rising Dragons, as these dragons are more controlled, closer to the other 'Dragon' techniques that the element jutsu have. It forms hundreds of weapons together into the shape of dragon heads that she can control much better than her old technique.**_

_**Anyways, think that's everything introduced here. Alright, time for: **_

_**Reader Reviews**_

_**Ankhanium:**_

_Thanks. Hope it worked out well enough, and this chapter with the explanation of why Naruto took it so badly._

_**Samuraiguy2:**_

_When Naruto leaves Konoha, it will be official, with Jiraiya, like in canon._

_**SythAngelWing:**_

_That would be Lee and Neji lol. And yes, there will be many unhappy looks at Naruto from them._

_The homopedo's time is a ways off, a few chapters easily. When It comes, you should enjoy it._

_No, it won't be Jiraiya. Ron will train his brother, he isn't Kakashi to go foisting him off on Ebisu._

_The Rasengan will show up after the time skip when Naruto leaves to train. Yes, Naruto will leave without Ronnel for the time skip._

_**Firelordeg:**_

_Hope you liked this chapter as well._

_**Dragon and Sword Master:**_

_Thankee, and you were the only one. The start of why Ron reacted so badly is at this chapter, hope you like what's been shown so far._

_P.S. Lol. Read in the chapter for the comment about that._

_**Lostmyshoeinsheol:**_

_Hmm, you liked the Tenten pointyness? Then I think you'll like this chapter, with her new technique. There will be a special chapter just after the Prelims, where the weapons of the main characters are all described – from Naruto's staff to the Kusanagi, to Sasuke's scythe, to Tenten's own double ended naginata. Look forward to it!_

_And yes… I'll be doing things like that from time to time._

_**Fanficreader71:**_

_Here's the next one!_

_**Geetac:**_

_Hope you like this chapter too._

_**Wyrtha:**_

_Welcome back, and no, Kyuubi doesn't really bother with minor injuries like that when it doesn't need to. Keeps Naruto from thinking he's immortal if he has to suffer recovery time, plus it lets Kyuu prepare for any major injuries._

_**Naginator:**_

_Hope this chapter is good as well!_

_**Umbra8191**__:_

_Here's the next update, hope it's as great!_

_**Sable Scribe: (::)**_

_You get a cookie for guessing right lol. And I think this chapter meets up with your 'more putting down of Sasuke' desire. The romance is going to begin slowly, and yes, 'Ruto's first kiss is in this chapter. And don't worry, I don't mind other people making suggestions/requests. You aren't the only one to want her to show up, and she will be._

_As for my writing… I'm a Gaia-nerd. I'm in mostly high-literacy guilds, so I'm used to typing up good attacks, because if I don't, they get avoided easily. If you want my advice on fight scenes, that's what it is – join something like that where you RP out fights and look for lots of literacy._

_**Still Not Dead Yet:**_

_Err, not sure, it might be. You'd have to remind me what technique it is that his uncle uses… -sweatdrop-_

_Yeah, I do try to put a little comedy in. I think you're the only one who caught that comment though lol._

_Nope ^.^ I wanted to put a smackdown on Sasuke, but Naruto's duel unbalanced the numbers. Naruto gets to fight twice, but don't worry about who he's going to fight – they won't be able to beat him._

_Here's the next chapter though, hope you like it since it focuses almost entirely on the prelims._

_**James Larthol:**_

_James James James… -wags finger- The prelims are necessary, else I would have had to put Sasuke in the Finals, and that wasn't going to happen. I know most authors just skim over the prelims, saying 'same as in canon', but I say nay to that! These are MY preliminary fights, and they are unique! Seriously, how many people have Gaara trade playing games for sparing someone's life?_

_Anyway, don't worry, Zenko is coming, though she's still going to be a few chapters. Patience my young friend, patience. And what happened with Bakine will set the stage for something later on, so I needed this to happen. And yes, yes I did see what you did thar._

_**Taeniaea:**_

_First..that's a lot of 'a's in a name. Second, I love your name lol. Third, I hope you keep liking the story._

_**Crimsonphoenix271:**_

_Hello brother in name. Anyway, that reaction will be explained in a few chapters, with some given here. And I've picked 'Kami no Kohai'(__**Thank you ElRusso)**__ for the translation, so next time it comes up you know what to look for!_

_**Flame55:**_

_I hope you kept reading the story from there, and that you kept liking the story!_

_**Rey Fury Blitzkrieg:**_

_I think this is one of the hmm…. 'best' I think, is the closest thing, reviews that I've ever gotten. Thank you for the compliments, and I know that I am sadly lacking in the weapon description department. I've been planning on something to fix that, and that's what the special chapter after the prelims will be about – describing the weapons of this story. Hope you enjoy the extras (fluff and humor) in this chapter, and that it isn't too heavy on action! Thanks again!_

_**Too lazy to log in:**_

_I laughed hard when I saw your name. I understand feeling that lazy, and have done it a few times. You get many kudos for guessing one of the pairings before half of the pair has even shown!_

_**No- I'm not on Facebook:**_

_I know, and sadly I had to do it so 'Ruto could get his duel. However, she'll get another chance in the Finals, and then her change will be truly shown. Hope you like this chapter too!_

_Ja Ne -_

_G.T._

_P.S. new poll going up, this one isn't story changing, I just want to know what you people think. Look on my profile for it!_


	25. Chapter 24

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. This is purely fictional work here. Then again, isn't Naruto itself fictional work?**_

_**Chapter 24: Forest of Death: Fight for Your Right to Fight! Part Three**_

_**Forest of Death – Tower Stadium**_

Shikamaru sighed as he moved down the stairs. He knew the stories about his opponent – last year's Top Rookie, a prodigy of the Hyuuga clan with skills that rivaled the Main Branch. He knew that his actual chances of defeating his foe were slim. However, the young genius also knew that his blonde teammate would never let him live it down if he didn't at least try.

Neji calmly strode to the center of the stadium floor, taking his position near Iruka. The stoic Hyuuga teen was supremely unconcerned with this match, and it was evident by the bored look on his face. He raised one eye calmly as the Nara Heir took a lazy stance across from him, but almost immediately dismissed the younger boy as a non-entity. He looked around at the stands, his eyes settling on his cousin and hardening.

_I should have fought her. Of course it's the Main Branch that gets preferential treatment – she lost her fight, but as always, favoritism shows as she moves on._ He scowled up at her, barely noting when Iruka asked if he was ready. It took two repetitions of his name before the Byakugan wielder finally realized that he was being spoken to. He turned his attention back towards the proctor, who glared at him and asked again.

"Are you ready?" Finally catching the question, Neji nodded sharply. Iruka stared at him for a moment, trying to figure out what had distracted him so. Then the scarred man shook his head. "Alright then… HAJIME!" He shunshin'd back to the statue to observe the fight.

Neither person moved. Neji's style was primarily responsive and meant to deal with assailants who closed in, something that the lazy genius would only do if absolutely necessary. And Shikamaru himself was just that – lazy. The two combatants stood there staring at each other, each waiting for the other to initiate the fight.

_Wait a minute – the Jyuuken is designed to counter physical combat…. And I know his teammate is that girl obsessed with throwing things, which means that he has practice dodging attacks. But, my combat style isn't physical at all._ Shikamaru raised one eyebrow as he came upon this basic assumption. Most everyone who fought the Hyuuga tried physical attacks, something the clan excelled at defending against. But the Nara's shadow manipulation operated on a different level than the pure physical realm.

In the stands, Naruto grinned as he saw his genius friend's thoughts click. Of all the Konoha shinobi, aside from himself, Shikamaru was the most naturally suited to fighting Neji. The blonde didn't know for sure, but he thought that the Byakugan would actually see through the shadows that the Nara Heir used, meaning he wouldn't even see the attacks if he activated his Doujutsu.

"Ninpo: Kagemane no Jutsu." Shikamaru made the first move. Thin tendrils of shadow snaked out from his feet, speeding towards Neji. The Hyuuga boy raised one eyebrow at this attack and stepped back contemptuously, standing just out of reach of the genius' attack range. Shikamaru scowled and brought his shadow tendrils back to his own shadow and moved forward, trying to get the other boy into range. Or at least, that's what it seemed like.

Inwardly, Neji was scowling. _This is annoying. The brat's shadow tendrils have more range than my Hakke, so I'll have to move exceptionally fast to even hope of getting in range before he can catch me with them._ The Hyuuga prodigy glared at the fact that he was going to have to go closer to his full speed against the lazy boy.

_Come on, come on, activate your eyes already. You'll lose as soon as you do._ Shikamaru grinned to himself as he saw the vein's on his opponent's temples bulge, the tell tale sign of the Byakugan activating. To test his theory, he sent a shadow tendril from his still active technique towards the other Gennin, and nearly spoiled it by grinning widely when he saw that the prodigy didn't even react to the shadow. He watched as Neji dashed straight towards him, disregarding his technique.

_This is bad. I cannot see his shadows…too bad. This so called genius is fated to lose to me today, as I am fated to continue to the Finals to destroy the 'pride' of the main house._ Neji didn't even notice when his footsteps slowed down, but Shikamaru did when he saw the older Gennin break through his shadow's hold and kept going. To the Doujutsu wielder, the lack of attack to him indicated that the younger boy had given up. He kept thinking that right until the genius pulled out a kunai and tossed it down at the ground in front of himself.

"Too late, and your aim is off. Foolish genius, you are within the range of my Divination. Ninpo: Hakke: Rokujūyon Shō." Neji's hands became a blur as they thudded into Shikamaru's body. Pinpoint flares of chakra flowed from the Hyuuga's outstretched fingers into the Nara Heir's body, forcing the tenketsu of the younger male to seal up and stop processing chakra. The pineapple headed Gennin fell backwards as the vicious assault ended, with him barely able to push chakra throughout his body. He grinned though as he heard his assailant step back and accidently kick the kunai that he had thrown down earlier.

Neji looked down as he heard a faint hissing sound near his feet. His pale eyes widened as his prized eyes gazed straight into a flare of chakra, damaging them. He let out a cry of pain as he stumbled backwards, his hands flying up to cover his wounded eyes.

From the ground, Shikamaru chuckled weakly as he forcibly tore open two tenketsu that had been sealed by the elder shinobi's attack. The pain flooded through his body as he literally flooded those two points with his own chakra, effectively putting high pressure behind a plugged faucet. For a moment, nothing happened, until that pressure built to be too much and the 'plugs' – Neji's chakra – were shredded apart. With control over those two tenketsu points returned, Shika was able to control the limbs that they were attached to, his right arm and left leg. Slowly, the genius forced himself into an upright position, balancing carefully on his good leg as he watched his opponent sank to his knees while rubbing his eyes vigorously. The genius boy sighed and shook his head.

"This wasn't the smartest way to end the fight, nor was it the best way. But it was the fastest route that might lead to a victory for me, and thus, taking your Hakke, which I knew ahead of time that you could do, was a necessary sacrifice." Neji's head snapped upwards, the sound of Shikamaru's voice coming from above him making him realize that the other boy was upright, not on the ground as he should be after the Rokujūyon Shō. The still partially blind teen stood up, blinking furiously to regain his sight from the effects of the chakra flare bomb. As it was, he couldn't activate the Byakugan with his eyes messed up as they were, and that immediately put him at a disadvantage.

"Enough of this. Ninpo: Kagemane no Jutsu." Once again, shadow tendrils lanced out from the Nara Heir, but this time, when Neji jumped back to the distance he had before, the tentacular images kept going, wrapping around his feet and holding him fast. The older boy now locked in his jutsu, Shikamaru walked forward, making the other boy do so as well. That was when Shikamaru ran into a problem. Neji did not have any kunai on him, so Shika couldn't threaten him as he had intended. He growled once before his brilliant mind jumped to the next option – striking the older shinobi in the forehead with the pommel ring of his kunai, the distance making it sage for him as Neji's own hand would stop before it hit him.

Neji's sight was returning, and had recovered enough for him to see his opponent's hand rise up with a kunai clasped in it. He felt his own hand rising, and when Shikamaru moved their hands forward so that the cold metal ring rested against the Hyuuga's forehead while the prodigy's hand hovered motionless in the air, he figured out what the other was planning. Shikamaru's hand reared back, then plunged forward.

Too late, he saw the glow of chakra around Neji's hand and neck. The Hyuuga concentrated chakra to those to portions of his body for specific reasons – the chakra to his hand struck Shikamaru's forehead, knocking him out finally. The chakra to his own neck let him break the Kagemane that was keeping his head in place, allowing him to tilt his head back far enough to avoid the pommel strike that the shadow wielder had been going for. The Nara Heir crumpled to the ground, his eyes glazed over.

"Shousha, Hyuuga Neji!" The prodigy of the Branch Family knelt over his defeated opponent, chakra floating to his hands once again, prompting Iruka. "Back away Neji, I said the fight was over!"

"I am not attacking him Iruka-san. I am removing the blocks that my Hakke induced into his tenketsu. If this does not happen, it is possible that more permanent damage would be done. Thus it is imperative that his chakra flow be restored as swiftly as possible." With methodical efficiency, the Hyuuga reactived his Byakugan, wincing when he realized that he still couldn't see out of the left eye, the one that had been closer to the chakra flare. He shrugged that off for now and swept his hands along Shikamaru's body, shredding the chakra 'plugs' that he had created in the younger boy.

Even after he was done, Shikamaru laid on the ground, unresponsive. He looked up into the eyes of Shikamaru and growled in frustration when he saw that the lazy genius had fallen asleep with his eyes open some time in the few seconds that his own chakra flow had been restored to him. The pale eyed boy stood up with an angry growl and stalked back towards the stands.

_That was not fate. That child could have beaten me…he took the defeat due to laziness. Why? Did he not want to advance? _The predestination obsessed Gennin grumbled as he stalked up the stairs. It hadn't been intentional on Shikamaru's part, but by his obvious lackadaisical attitude, he had upset Neji's fascination. The boy wouldn't give up his obsession completely, but this fight had shaken his conviction slightly.

Iruka shook his head, unaware of the thoughts tumbling through the older Gennin's mind. He looked towards the sleeping boy and grumbled before concentrating.

"**SHIKAMARU GET YOUR LAZY ASS BACK TO THE STANDS!"** Once more, Naruto was relieved that his older brother did not know how to perform the Bighead jutsu that the Chuunin sensei was so fond of using. The sleeping boy, long ago trained to respond a certain way when he heard that, immediately jumped to his feet wide awake. He returned to the stands, for some reason thinking of someone training a dog to react to a bell ringing.

Iruka took a step forward again, to pick the next opponents when he heard a faint cracking sound beneath his feet. He blinked once then jumped backwards, displaying speed above even Naruto's, landing on the statue again as the floor where he had been standing collapsed, revealing sand beneath a thin stone cover. The Chuunin's eyes widened as he realized that Gaara's technique from his fight against Chouji had not ended, and had kept converting the floor to sand. He shot a look at Ibiki, who nodded.

"Everyone, there's going to be an intermission as we repair the floor. Suna ninja-san, we need you to remove whatever technique it is that is converting the floor to sand." Gaara stood there, looking blank for a moment, before his sister leaned over and whispered something into his ear. The redheaded Jinchuruuki looked over at his blonde friend in the Konoha stands before nodding and striding to the ledge. Sand flowed from his gourd to form a platform under his feet. He floated down to the stadium floor as the other shinobi and kunoichi exited the arena.

_**Forest of Death – Tower (Medical Wing)**_

The first place for three people to head for on the intermission was the medical wing. Kiba, Lazun, and Yugito went to check on Kanuti, who was awake again, but still shaky and weakened from the poison on the needles. A soft request had the two Kumo ninja standing out of earshot –at least, out of Lazun's earshot, though Kiba didn't know that Yugito could still hear –as Kiba sat down next to the girl.

"Sorry about getting you hit by those needles." The kunoichi blinked and looked at the animalistic Gennin. She brought one hand up and pinched other arm hard, nearly drawing blood. Kiba blinked in confusion and sent her a questioning look.

"Just making sure this isn't a dream. Why on earth are you apologizing to me? Those were my needles, I should have been more careful. Hell, something I didn't realize until afterwards was that if you had wanted to, you could have scooped some of those up and thrown them back when you got an opening. It's my own fault that I got paralyzed, I should have already either built an immunity to my agent, or taken the counter agent beforehand." She waved her hand dismissively. Kiba caught it and held it for a second, making the Cloud girl blush. The kunoichi tugged her hand free.

"If anything, I should be apologizing to your partner for ignoring him. It was stupid and rude, and something that I have been trained not to do. In fact, we were warned specifically about the Inuzuka clan because of your partners giving you an often overlooked source of backup." The hand came up and rubbed the back of her head. It was at that time that Yugito and Lazun entered, ending the semiprivate conversation before Kiba even had a chance to get to the real reason that he was trying to speak to her alone.

The group settled in, with Yugito informing her teammates that the Konoha shinobi knew about their mission, and what he had told her earlier to do about it.

"But before I do go speak to this Rei-Uzumaki Ronnel person, I need to find out more about him. No offense Kiba-san, but you are a village mate of his and might be blind to some of the realities of what he has to do. I must know more about how he would react to this before I can go to him with it."

"Actually Yugito-san, I have heard something about the one known as Ronnel before we came here." Surprisingly, it was Lazun who was speaking. "I recently read a new issue of the Bingo Book that came out, that my elder sister left on the table at our house. In it was mention of a man who hunted down those who considered themselves immortal – the worshippers of Jashin. The Hunter of the False God, little was known about him aside from the fact that he was able to do something that few could – he could kill the true Masters of Jashinist Rites. It is also known that he has a streak of honor more in line with a samurai than with a true shinobi." Yugito blinked as she remembered why Lazun had been included in this mission. The Kumogakure Kekkei Genkai wielder also had a near photographic memory, an invaluable asset when you couldn't bring full dossiers on everyone you might encounter. Her head dropped to her hands as she rubbed her temples.

"I still want to do a little checking of my own on this guy before I go revealing this secret." The four of them turned to lighter topics, such as who the successful ninja might face in later rounds, or who Yugito herself was likely to fight here in the prelims.

_**Forest of Death – Central Tower (Naruto)**_

The blonde Jinchuruuki leaned against a wall down one of the corridors that catacombed the tower. Since the intermission had been called, he had been pondering on whether or not he should seek Temari out and ask her about the sudden kiss. He had enjoyed it, true, and he did like her, but for some reason, the Konoha nin just couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that she might like him as well. At least, he hadn't been able to contemplate that before today. Now, many of the small sidelong glances that he had picked up on made sense to him – she was watching him the same way that he had caught Ronnel and Anko watching each other before they admitted their feelings for each other! That realization dumbfounded the blonde teen.

"No choice for it… I need to talk to her, and right now is as good a time as any other." The boy with red-streaked eyes pushed himself away from the wall and strode down the hall, heading back towards the main chamber where he thought that the girl would still be. Unfortunately for his plans, Naruto was interrupted.

"Have you given any more thought to our lord's offer?" The unfamiliar voice had the Demon Container flattening against the wall, enhancing his hearing as he listened in on whatever was going on around the corner. "It truly is most generous – after all, he is willing to let you learn from him, while the rest of your pathetic village is destroyed."

"As I told the freak before, I have a path to power far greater than any he could ever hope of achieving." Upon hearing the second speaker, Naruto nearly shot around the corner to confront the Uchiha Heir. He had thought the boy would be in the medical wing, but apparently he had gotten out somehow, or simply not gone. "His petty attempts at getting me to join him are ruined by the fact that he tried marking me when he met me in the forest." There was a sharp intake of breath from whomever Sasuke was speaking to.

"Tried marking you brat? Our master's mark has either one of two outcomes – you will either die, or you will realize his greatness! Since you are not dead, even now the truth of the Otokage's glory is sinking into your mind!" A sharp, contempt filled laugh cut the first speaker off.

"Do not think me as weak willed as you, you pathetic gauntleted freak! My true master, the one who has promised me power beyond your Kage's feeble offer, found it no trouble at all to erase the snake's venomous injection, and indeed, replaced it with his own power! I am far stronger than you could hope to be."

"You say that, but in truth, you did not even make it through the preliminary rounds. If you had heeded our lord's offer, then defeating that little Sand slut would have been no difficulty at all." The insult to the girl that he had fallen for was enough for the blonde Jinchuruuki. He ripped his truncheon from its seal on his sleeve and strode around the corner, wind whipping around him furiously.

Dosu's first warning that something was wrong was when he tried gripping his arm to reinforce the sound blast that he wanted to pin the newly revealed shinobi with. A giant blue spark leapt from the metal to his other hand, making him cry out in pain as the raw electricity bit into his nervous system. He looked down at his hand in betrayal, and saw that wind was flowing around both his gauntlets, visible even to his eyes. And the second thing that he saw was that wherever the wind flowed, electricity remained in its wake. His eyes barely had time to widen before the build up of electrons reached its breaking point, and energy slammed into his body through the arms, frying them both and sending him to the floor in a jumbled heap unable to control his autonomous system beyond his heart beating, and even that was difficult.

The Uchiha on the other hand, had even less warning than his companion. One second, he was conscious; the next, something had slammed into the side of his head and knocked him out cold. Standing near the two slumped bodies, Naruto pondered what had just happened.

_Kyuubi-sensei, I think I might have just broken my elementalist kick._ This comment was enough to rouse the Kitsune, who had fallen asleep rather than listen to Naruto's thoughts as he tried to figure out his relationship change.

_**Want to run that one by me again kit?**_

_ Well…. Uhm…. Look at my memory of what just happened with the gauntlet kid there._ Therew as silence as Naruto hurried away from the unconscious teens, trying to avoid being fingered as their assailant. He made it back to the stadium when his live in sensei finally spoke again.

_**You may have done just that kit. I'm impressed too – you have two of the most destructive elements, and your secondary is elementally weak to your primary. That is incredibly rare, more often someone who has their second element activate as you did find that it is one that has no bearing, positive or negative, on their primary element.**_

_ Is this a good thing or a bad thing?_ Silence reined in the Jinchuruuki's mind as his Bijuu thought on that.

_**In truth kit, I don't really know. I've not heard of someone having both Fuuton and Raiton outside of a Kekkei Genkai that combined the two, and you don't have one. Trust me, I would know.**_ The Kyuubi went quiet again, thinking, leaving Naruto to his own thoughts. Those thoughts left off of the question of just what Wind and Lightning would combine to be when he spotted Temari leaning against the railing of the stands, watching her younger brother as he worked to undo the damage inadvertently wrought by his sand conversion. The blonde boy studied the blonde girl for a moment before taking a deep breath and approaching her.

Temari was quiet as she observed her brother working. When he wasn't trying to slaughter everyone around him, and instead being serious about something like a normal human, rather a normal Jinchuruuki, she found the look of concentration that he wore rather endearing. It seemed that whatever Naruto had done in the Forest of Death earlier had brought back the younger brother she had once loved, the one who had vanished after a visit by their father's entourage many years ago.

Lost in thought, she didn't notice the person walking towards her until he was leaning on the railing beside her. As it was, when she saw another head of blonde hair near her, the elder ninja nearly jumped out of her skin, and immediately cursed herself for not paying more attention to her surroundings. She looked over and relaxed slightly when she saw that it was Naruto next to her.

"You know, most people wouldn't make their first move on another right after a fight where they took on a murderous maniac bent on humiliating her." Naruto's voice was soft as he glanced sidelong at her. This time, for the first time since meeting her on the streets of Konoha, he caught her blush.

"Yeah well, I'm not a normal girl. I'm too headstrong and stubborn. Besides, I was slightly out of it… fighting a madman who could have killed me if he was willing to go all out was slightly terrifying. It tends to make a girl act out." She turned her face away from him, upset though she couldn't quite tell why. Beside her, she heard laughter. She turned to glare at Naruto who was holding his stomach. She turned away to storm away from him, upset.

The blonde boy saw her turning away and moved swiftly. His right arm shot forward and grabbed her right arm, pulling her back to him. With another tug, the shinobi spun the kunoichi around so that she was facing him. She glared at him through tear filled eyes.

"Please, please stop crying. I wasn't laughing at you Temari-chan. A normal girl could never put up with me, you know that. I'm a Jinchuruuki, a Demon Container. A normal girl would go mad trying to put up with the insanity that is my life. A girl who accepts life at its deepest, and has walked on the edge of death…someone who has a Jinchuruuki for a brother, someone who knows what this world is like, and can handle that insanity… that is someone who can put up with me." The tears stopped as she tried to figure out what it was that he was trying to say. Before she could ask him to clarify it though, Iruka's voice rang out.

"ALL RIGHT! GET EVERYONE BACK HERE! THE FLOOR IS CLEARED, AND THE INTERMISSION IS OVER!" Lesser proctors vanished from the room, gone to retrieve those Gennin who hadn't remained in the chamber. Naruto gripped Temari's hand tightly.

"We'll talk later Temari-chan." She nodded once, still trying to figure out what it was that the blonde next to her had meant by his words. All she did know for certain was that he had held her close as he spoke to her. And being held close to the blonde had sent her heart racing. She watched, still confused by him, as the teen with cerulean eyes strode over to his side of the main stadium, sending her one last half grin before getting to the other side.

"What the hell was that all about?" Temari was snapped out of her reminiscing about the feeling of the Jinchuruuki's arms around her by her brother's question. She glared at him and huffed before turning away.

"Shut up. Has everyone come back?" A negatory grunt emanated from her other side, where Gaara had just stepped off of his sand platform. She sighed and rubbed her forehead. She wanted to get these fights over with, because she had a talk with a certain shinobi planned.

Down on the main floor, Iruka watched as the proctors who had left to get the missing Gennin returned behind a wave of those Gennin. He waited until the last of them had returned and signaled to him before looking to Ibiki, who nodded. The scar-nosed Chuunin checked the roster and cleared his throat.

"MIRANU REISHIO AND NII YUGITO, GET DOWN HERE!" Yugito winced. It was the Kirigakure kunoichi's bad luck that she would fight against a Jinchuruuki without being able to use physical weapons. Still, the Cloud girl knew that she would have to be on the watch for genjutsu and Ninjutsu, both avenues of attack that were still open.

"Clarification for you Miranu-san." The girl, who had just arrived and was glaring at Yugito as the Demon Container walked down the stairs, turned her attention towards the Battle Proctor. " According to the forfeit incurred upon you by your teammate, you cannot use physical weapons. This means that no shuriken, kunai, wires, paper bombs, chakra flares, none of those. You can use your body, as in Taijutsu, and any nin or genjutsu that you have. If you have a Kekkei Genkai, then you can use that as well." The red headed girl nodded and growled at where her near dead teammate was resting in a coma-state as the medics still worked to stabilize him. Even with the intervening battles and the intermission, they hadn't gotten the boy well enough to risk moving him. There had been a stroke of luck that the ground they were working on hadn't collapsed after Gaara's technique.

"Alright, clarification done. You two ready?" Yugito nodded, cracking her neck as she took in her opponent. The redhead girl glared at the blonde as she nodded her assent as well. "Fine then. Fighters, HAJIME!" Iruka body flickered back to the statue.

Right off the bat, Yugito dominated the fight unstoppably. Predictably, the Kiri girl used Suiton techniques. As Reishio sent a torrent of water from her mouth towards the Container of the Twin Tailed Demon Cat, said Container snorted and flashed through a short chain of seals.

"Raiton: Rai Burasto." A flare of electricity poured out of the blonde girl's hand to slam into the water that was focused on her. Reishio's eyes widened and she barely cut the water technique before the electricity that was arcing up the stream of water struck her. As it was, she did get a mild shock, but not anywhere near as severe as it could have been. The girl snarled and ran through her own chain of seals.

"Suiton: Mizu Shuriken!" Her angry shout preceded water from the ground flowing up and forming into an orb above her left hand. Naruto's eyes narrowed as he studied it, getting the feeling that he would need this knowledge later. Yugito's eyes though, showed that she was supremely unconcerned with the attack, and it was well founded, much better than Neji's false superiority. When the water formed shuriken flew towards her, the Kumogakure shinobi merely ran through the same chain of seals as before and held up her hand again.

"Raiton: Rai Burasto." Once more, lightning burst from her hand and smashed into the water jutsu. This time though, the technique shattered apart completely, fading into a shower of sparks and water that filled the air between the two kunoichi. Finally taking the initiative when her opponent couldn't see her, Yugito ran through a different chain of seals, one that the other blonde Jinchuruuki recognized his brother doing once during their wanderings.

"Raiton: Rai Bunshin no Jutsu." Lightning crackled around her, then a copy formed of the yellow and blue energy stepped away from the original girl and walked towards Reishio. With each step, the clone took on more and more of Yugito's coloring, until only a faint yellow tinge betrayed it from the real thing.

To the Kirigakure kunoichi, her opponent had just walked towards her without a care in the world. The girl snarled, infuriated by the other teen's seeming disregard. She launched herself forward, not realizing that the open arms approach was truly a trap, and one that she had fallen for soundly.

Her outstretched arm slammed into the Lightning Clone's chest. Too late, she saw that there was another Yugito standing behind the first. Too late, she saw the yellow tinge around the girl she was attacking. Too late, she saw that the water near the clone's feet was charged with electricity. By the time she saw these things and figured out what they meant, her attack had connected. In a single burst of electricity, all of the lightning stored up into the clone ricocheted into Reishio's body. The burst of energy flung the red head away, making all of her hair stand on end like a giant red afro.

The Jinchuruuki kunoichi strode over towards her fallen opponent and prodded her with one foot. She was rewarded with a snarl, but that was all the fallen Kiri ninja could do – the shock had made her nervous system go haywire, and until she recovered control of it, she wouldn't be able to move.

"Shousha, Nii Yugito!" The proclaimed victor turned and strode away, once again disregarding the redhead girl. Medics came and retrieved the fallen Gennin to cart her to the medical ward.

Iruka shook his head. So far, two of the fights had ended that quickly, and had shown that level of….ease, from one of the ninja fighting. It was apparent to the Battle proctor that some of these Gennin were ready for the rank up, whereas others were so ill suited for it that he couldn't believe that their sensei's had nominated them. He checked the scoreboard and blinked, wondering what twist of fate had set up the next fight.

"UZUMAKI NARUTO AND YAMANAKA INO, GET DOWN HERE!" The two blondes looked at each other for a moment, then Ino looked down at her old academy teacher.

"Sensei. No way in HELL am I fighting Naruto! Not in this life time! I forfeit!" She crossed her arms and turned away to underscore her seriousness here. Iruka shook his head.

_Honestly, I can't blame her. She watched her opponent put the smackdown on another Gennnin, and she is honest enough to admit that she isn't as good as Bakine is…err..was…_ The scar nosed man looked towards the sidelines where the medics were working on Bakine. They had slowed down their feverish pace, but the Chuunin couldn't tell if that was because they had succeeded in stabilizing him or if they had just given up. _Whatever._ "FINE THEN. SHOUSHA BY FORFEIT – UZUMAKI NARUTO!" He nodded to the blonde boy, who just shrugged his acceptance.

"We're getting close to the end of this maggots. We have two Oto maggots, a Sand maggot, and a Konoha maggot left. Two more fights, and this is done! Umino-san, who are our next fighters?" Ibiki amplified his voice to make sure they all heard him. Iruka glanced down at the listings and thought for a moment before looking up.

"ABURA ZAKU AND ROCK LEE, GET DOWN HERE!" The Taijutsu specialist Gennin leapt from his spot in the stands straight to where Iruka was standing, covering the distance with a single jump. Everyone looked at him with differing amounts of shock.

"YOSH! LET THIS FIGHT SHOW HOW BRIGHTLY MY FIRES OF YOUTH™ BURN!"

_**(AN And End. Got a little more romantic tension in this chapter, though only hugging. No sign of Ronnel and what's going on there, I'm saving that up for when the fights are done. After the prelims, we have two special chapters coming up. One will read as if from the Bingo Book – It will cover Naruto, Sasuke, Ronnel, Anko, and a character who will show up soon. After that, will be a relaxation chapter for the group, ie, get ready to see some Karaoke! I believe I found a pretty damn good song for how Ron feels about his purple haired lady, and I can't resist the temptation to use it. **_

_**Anyway, the next chapter will be the end of the prelims. I know I've been putting two or three per chapter, so the next one might not break six thousand words. Don't worry, I might fluff it up some to get it there though. **_

_**Reader Reviews:**_

_**Sythangelwing:**_

_Ah, I don't mind questions, really I don't. Ask away lol._

_It apparently made a lot of people's days when they saw that happen. And my abuse of the traitor got wrapped up for a while in this chapter, gotta love the concussion from behind._

_Here is the next chapter… and no, no he isn't. Sand is going to get someone else, because as stated, the Sand Siblings and their sensei, once the Exams are over, are becoming Konoha ninja. Can't be both. –shrug-_

_And it isn't a spoiler – I haven't revealed who it will be that they get to replace him. It might get a couple of laughs. At least, I hope it will._

_**Umbra8191:**_

_Hope you enjoyed this chappie._

_**Naginator:**_

_It seems that a lot of people enjoyed seeing the Uchiha get the smackdown. And while Temari isn't the first to realize that she likes him –look back at Haku's emofest a few chapters ago, Wave arc I think- she IS the first to act on it. And the Ice mistress was still in the arena when the kiss happened, so what do you think is gonna happen lol._

_Sorry about the delay, here's the next chapter._

_**Geetac:**_

_Hope you like this chapter too._

_**Gon Freaks:**_

_Er. Massive and total carnage aside? Lol, nah, the full explanation is going to be in the down time chapter, so it's still two or three chapters away._

_**Dragon and Sword Master:**_

_It's not paranoia when they're really out to get you! Lol._

_Er. Don't hate me, but I didn't really play any of the FF saga except for er…10, I think. I __**VAGUELY**__ know the name, but I have no clue who Auron is, or what it would mean if Ron pulled one. I will say this – he isn't going to hate on Naruto for using it._

_And I know there's something wrong with the idea – that's what makes it so hilarious. If you've read Chuunin Exam Day, at one point early on Naruto pulls something similar to this, only it ends up with Sasuke being a blind choirboy. _

_And I'm not a true hater – I like the original Sasuke, before he got his insane powerups and went completely SI/bonkers. The scene in the Wave arc in canon, when he and 'Ruto get in an eating contest, is one of my favorites, because it's showing the child that the two of them still are. Erk. Sorry, anyway, yeah, not really enough of a hater to pull stupid bashes on characters._

_Rants are fine lol, I do them from time to time (see above). And still feel sorry for him? Yes, he actually could have won this fight. But, he's Shikamaru, lazy. And losing to last year's Rookie wouldn't seem like such a let down._

_**Queenwitch:**_

_Thankee madam. And uhm.. which secret? And no, Yugito isn't going to follow 'Ruto around, she is going to see who he meets after the Exams are done. She doesn't know that Naruto was adopted, so she's going to miss Ronnel completely. Lol._

_And uhm, nope, not reviewing as anonymous. ^.^_

_**Firelordeg:**_

_Hope you enjoyed this chapter as well._

_**Too lazy to log in:**_

_Again with the making me laugh. And You'll just have to wait and see. As far as the Yugito question – think about what Temari was in canon._

_**Fnaficreader71:**_

_Here's the next chappie!_

_**James Larthol**_

_Get your knickers out of that twist Tomo. The prelims end next chapter, and as for Sasuke – he couldn't go all out. Remember, he didn't even dare activate his 'Cursed' Seal because of Jashin's influence. He thinks he's stronger than Naruto, but when you have a god telling you to lay low, you damn well better lay low. Lol. Not too much of a show, sorry. That real show is going to be the next two fights. Any fight with Lee is going to involve him ping ponging someone all over the place, and I can't wait to get started. –evil cackle- on another note – sorry I haven't been on G.O., life issues have been hitting one after another._

_**Wyrtha:**_

_Yup, been heavy on the action, it's time for introspection and whatnot. I'm still working on making the fights longer, but… eh, que sera sera. And yes XD I did that bit on purpose – just to further humiliate him. And for not killing him right then and there, well… she didn't want to risk having her brother at a disadvantage when he goes into his fight._

_**Kiyomos:**_

_Lol, thanks. But is it really though? Hmm._

_**Lostmyshoeinsheol:**_

_Yup yup, I thought it was unique! But then, not many people have Naruto pulling out all the stops to seal away a possessing monk spirit. That's the biggest part as to why Gaara went good – no more loopy priest wanting blood. _

_As for Kiba and Yugito – it gets mentioned again in this chapter, along with a little romantic tension for everyone's favorite dog-boy. _

_Working out how to crumple the duckass was fun, and it's the reason why the floor wasn't immediately fixed, something that either contestant could have requested. But Temari didn't because she wanted the sand, and the Uchiha wouldn't because he couldn't be seen as weaker than her. What with the advantage of sand, and the fact that he couldn't go all out, Sasuke couldn't win. At least, not in THIS reality._

_**No- I'm not on facebook:**_

_Hehe. Wondered how many people caught that. And yet another Uchiha pummeling fan! Woot!_

_**Marc:**_

_Gaara's conversion happened over the course of a week slowly, then had a major shift when Naruto sealed the psychotic priest away when they were in the woods. Gaara is now going to be a LOT calmer than he was – no midnight roaming to get blood._

_**Storyreaderlovespie:**_

_Hmm. Actually, you are the first person to ask me either of those questions. Ron is slightly below them, from what he has shown so far. Granted, he has one trick left up his sleeve that might kick him up there, but Ronnel's true skill is in evading blows. If he doesn't want to get hit, you'd have to be a Sannin to hit him. Or Anko._

_And as for the Jiraiya part…well… he doesn't know. He only just found out who 'Ruto's father is, and doesn't know who his godfather is. If he did know though, he wouldn't try keeping Jiraiya away – he'd tell Naruto to prank him, and prank him hard._

_**Still Not Dead Yet:**_

_Thanks, though the credit for the sand ramp idea goes to another author, one I read years ago (sweatdrops). Though the collapsing floor part, that was mine, so far as I know._

_And yes, yes, another Sasuke basher lover! Lol. I think I attracted a lot of that crowd. _

_And wait, Tenten's pointy things get wind around them later on, making them even more pointy. –ducks and hides- That won't end well.  
And as for that well… maybe. Though if it does use chakra strings, then the Uncle's technique is actually more like Kankuro's Kugetsu (Puppetry) than wind manipulation. No, the Projectile Control skill is one that I use on Gaia for Wind natured shinobi. Comes in handy, and it actually made an appearance way, way back, near the beginning of the story, when Naruto and Sasuke fought at the end of the Academy Exams._

_**All right, that's every review! Keep 'em coming with this chappie!  
Ja Ne, **_

_**G.T.**_


	26. Chapter 25

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I don't I don't I don't. –runs to a corner to cry-**_

_**Chapter 25: Forest of Death – Fight For Your Right to Fight! Part 4 (END)**_

Zaku stared at the green clad Gennin, who was currently running around the room shouting about challenges and 'Eternal Rivals'©. The Sound ninja had no clue what was going on, and truth be told, he didn't really give a damn. He would settle for blasting the other boy into orbit since he knew he wouldn't figure out what his issue was. But he couldn't attack until the proctor had declared the battle begun, and Iruka couldn't do that until Lee had settled down and stopped dashing around like a loon.

"OI BUSHY-BROWS! YOU'VE GOTTA STAND STILL TO BEGIN PROVING YOUR YOUTH!" Naruto cringed inwardly as he shouted. It went against every sensibility he had to yell about youth, but he knew it was the only way to calm the hyperactive Gennin. And, miracle of miracles to everyone around, Lee stopped dead still when he heard the blonde in the stands. He nodded and thrust a thumbs up towards the blonde Konoha Jinchuruuki, then turned to Iruka.

"I AM READY TO SHOW HOW BRIGHTLY MY FLAMES OF YOUTH™ ARE BURNING!" The Battle Proctor rubbed his forehead wearily. He knew, _knew_, that the boy hadn't been this difficult during his Academy years. He blamed it all on the lunatic named Maito Gai, who he knew was, if anything, worse than Lee himself was. He shook himself quickly and took advantage of Lee's stillness.

The foreigner brought his right arm up and spread the palm wide. Lee took a moment to wonder why his opponent had a hole in the center of his hand, then his eyes widened when the muscles on his foe's arm tensed. The green clad Taijutsuist flung himself sideways, barely dodging the unseen blade of wind. He rolled to his feet and glanced to where he had been – there was a trench dug in the ground nearly two feet long and half a foot wide. If he hadn't jumped aside when he did, he might have lost his leg to that attack.

"Not bad Leafer. But how long can you dodge what you can't see?" The Sound shinobi swung his arm towards Lee again, launching another burst of wind. Lee jumped sideways again, his mind flitting through scenarios of how to fight this when he felt blood trickling down his leg. He glanced down, shocked to see that his jumpsuit had a slice in it, and that his flesh had been cut as well. "Ok, color me impressed Leafer, I didn't think you could jump that far. No matter." Again, the arm swung around. This time though, the physically oriented Gennin spotted what he had missed the second time. Zaku's muscles tensed in a different manner than the first time!

Working on a hunch, and praying that he wasn't about to get himself killed, the Konoha ninja threw his body forward in a roll. When he came up to his feet, he was nearly in arms reach of the Otogakure Gennin. He grinned, satisfied that he could now truly fight his opponent.

"YOSH! LET THE FIGHT COMMENCE!"

_What the fuck? Let it commence? If that wasn't fighting, what the hell is?_ The Sound shinobi was now pissed. His opponent had managed to dodge around all three of his attacks, albeit one had nicked him. He shook his sudden bout of confusion away, confident that whatever luck had allowed the green clad freak to escape his attacks would soon fail and leave him victorious.

Meanwhile, Lee was running laps around his opponent, thinking about something that had struck him as odd. His opponent had only used one arm in this fight, leaving the other hanging at his side. To test his new thought, Lee dashed straight towards Zaku's left side. His suspicion was confirmed when, shocked by the apparently aggressive move, the Oto-nin brought his left arm up and a burst of wind flew from it. The Konoha shinobi brought his arms up and blocked the attack, grinning as he realized that since his opponent hadn't had time to tense his arm, the wind blast had been rough and unformed, a shove of wind rather than a slice of wind.

The Taijutsu master bounced on the balls of his feet, now certain of his impending victory. Zaku wasn't as fast as he was even with his weights on, and he seemed to be utterly reliant on the wind blades that he launched from the palms of his hands. Truly, this fight was unfair to such a one trick pony, for all Lee had to do was watch the tensing of the arms and he would be able to predict how the wind blade would form, and how to dodge it best.

_**Stands**_

A quiet form stood up from the sidelines and strode towards Ibiki. The Torture and Interrogation Chief looked over and raised his eyebrow at the person walking towards him.

"What can I do for you?"

"I am curious as to who I am going to fight. You have stated that the two currently engaging in combat, and a Sound ninja and a Sand ninja are the only ones left, leaving myself out of the count. Was this a deliberate neglection, or accidental?" The Intelligence Master nearly fell out of his seat at that. He stood up and stared at the male in front of him, taking in the Konoha hitai-ate, the dark round sunglasses, and the trench coat. He groaned mentally and rubbed his forehead.

"Sorry kid, that was an accident. I guess you'll fight the Yamanaka girl, since she skipped out on her fight." The Aburame Heir nodded to the scarred Jounin and turned around, returning to his seat. He knew why the Main Proctor had forgotten about him – Naruto had jumped up and declared he would fill in, and that made everyone else miscount. He shook his head slightly, wondering why people went with the first thing they heard and rarely bothered to check for themselves. Behind the glasses the eyes slid to where the blonde boy was standing while leaning over the railing, quiet as he watched the fight on the ground.

_Sigh, am I so quiet that even you didn't notice me? _The insect wielder chuckled once inwardly, feeling both complimented and insulted by that. Complimented because he was able to evade notice in a room full of ninja, and insulted because a friend forgot he was there. He shrugged and turned his own gaze back to the fight.

_**Stadium floor**_

Zaku was beginning to get dizzy. He had been forced to spin in place by his opponent, because the green clad shinobi kept running in a circle around him. The physically altered boy would have stopped to attack where he knew his opponent would be, but the one time he had tried that Lee had immediately increased his speed, gotten behind him, and kicked him into a wall hard enough that he had cracked the stone. He cursed mentally before deciding on what to do. Both arms came up, pointing opposite of each other as he tensed the tubes within his body to form the horizontal blades of wind.

The Taijutsu Gennin saw the arms coming up, and saw how the Sound ninja was tensing his arms. He knew that his next attack would end this ill matched fight, and all he had been waiting for was the perfect opening to begin – an opening that his foe had just given him. In the blink of an eye, the Leaf shinobi pushed his body to the upper limit of his speed with his weights on, and vanished from Zaku's sight. He began his ending rodeo with a kick straight into the Sound ninja's side.

First came the rib smashing blow that threw him towards the walls again. He closed his eyes and braced himself for the impact, only to feel his right leg being pulled out of its socket. Out of his mouth came a scream of pain as began spinning around and around, with Lee gripping his captured leg and twirling like a top. After no more than fifteen seconds of this, fifteen seconds at a speed that nearly made Zaku ill, Lee changed the swing and flung the Otogakure ninja up into the air. He then tensed his legs and leapt upwards, shooting past the disoriented shinobi.

When Zaku reached the peak of his trajectory and felt his body hang dead in the air, he risked opening his eyes. He immediately wished he hadn't.

Lee, who had gone up faster and farther than his opponent, had landed on the ceiling. Once there, he had thrown himself back downwards, aiming straight at Zaku. The two bodies met in an unforgiving crash that sent a sickening crunch throughout the stadium. Lee's much tougher flesh had slammed into Zaku's sternum, shattering his breastbone and several more ribs that had escaped being broken by the kick that had started the end.

The two Gennin drove into the ground, creating a crater in the ground around the point of impact. Dust plumed out from the hole in the concrete, masking what was happening inside of it. Suddenly, Lee's body flew up into the air, rising almost to the ceiling again. The Taijutsu enthusiast flipped around in the air so that he was pointed feet first towards the crater where Zaku lay. The teen plummeted back down into the obscuring dust.

Though the sight was hidden, the sound was not. There was disturbing squelching sound, followed by a cry of shock. A wet pop echoed throughout the chamber before Lee staggered out of the settling dust cloud, his eyes locked in a rictus of shock. One, two, three steps away from the crater, the Gennin collapsed face first to the ground, his eyes wide in horror.

Iruka reached him first, and immediately checked him for wounds. There was a small amount of gore on Lee's right foot, reaching up to midway up his calf. Despite the blood and unidentified tissue there, except for the slice from the wind attack early on in the fight, Lee was uninjured. A glance showed that the boy was still awake, but in shock still. He kept mumbling something so softly that not even with his ear next to the Gennin's mouth could Iruka hear what was being said.

Eventually the Battle Proctor stood up and walked over to check on Zaku. As he left the other boy, one of the green clad shinobi's teammates was forcing herself to stay still and not rush to check on him. Iruka brushed the last of the dust away with a sharp swing of his arm, then nearly vomited when he saw what lay in the crater.

Zaku was dead, there was no doubt about that. His torso was badly damaged, and ribs could be seen protruding from certain points, obviously broken. But that wasn't what had killed the foreign shinobi, no the killing blow was dealt to the Sound ninja's head. The center of the Otogakure Gennin's face had been literally crushed in, caving the face far enough that the brain was showing. Looking at the carnage, Iruka realized that the tissue he hadn't recognized on Lee's leg was brain matter. Moving quickly to prevent scarring any of the children in the stands, the Battle proctor pulled a scroll from his hip and sealed the carcass away with a heavy heart, knowing that this might cause trouble between Oto and Konoha later.

"Can you stand Lee?" There was a long pause where nothing happened. Then, slowly, the Taijutsu shinobi stood up on quaking legs, his face nearly the same tone as his jumpsuit. "Shousha by kill, Rock Lee." The scar faced man's tone was greatly subdued. A quiet gasp ran through the crowd. He moved over to Lee and laid a hand on the boy's shoulder. The Gennin flinched at the contact, a fearful expression on his face. "First kill?" A nod. Iruka sighed and shook his head before speaking again.

"Go find your sensei Lee-kun. You need to talk to him about this. No if ands or buts – go now. And I suggest that your teammates go with you, you need their support for this. Go." He gave a gentle push to Lee's shoulder, and gave the boy's teammates a pointed look that had the girl scurrying down, with the cold Hyuuga walking sedately behind her. Both quickened their pace when Lee almost fell over again, Tenten ducking under one shoulder to catch him. When Neji made it to him, he wordlessly took the shaken teen's shoulder. The three left in silence, with a look of disgust being shot their way from the only Sound ninja who was still in the chamber.

Iruka was about to call the next combatants down to take everyone's minds off of what had just happened when Ibiki landed next to him. There was a short conversation that left the Battle Proctor looking guiltily towards the stands. He nodded, then watched as Ibiki body flickered back to his stand. A rub of his forehead proceeded the scar faced Chuunin's next words.

"Change of plans everyone, it seems that we were a bit hasty in saying that there were only two fights remaining. It was brought to Morino-san's attention that there was a miscount made, and we do in fact have one more shinobi who hasn't fought. Ino-san, in the pursuit of being equal, you will be given a chance to fight for the chance to proceed to the Finals. With that said…" A glance over at the stands, then a nod.

"ABURAME SHINO AND SABAKU NO KANKURO, GET DOWN HERE!" Kankuro looked up, wondering who the hell it was that he was supposed to be fighting. He nearly fell from the stands when he saw what he had mistaken for a shadow near the rear of the Konoha section stand up and head for the stairs down to the stadium floor. He hurried down to avoid giving the impression that he was scared, though he had little foreknowledge on his opponent, and what he had was not good for him.

_Shit shit shit! I have to fight someone who holds the perfect counter to my technique! I just have to hope that he doesn't see through the disguise until it's too late._ The puppeteer was sweating nervously in his hiding spot in the cocoon on his puppet's back. He had made the switch when he was hidden in the staircase, and prayed that the deception would be enough to protect him from his opponent.

_**With Team Gai**_

Tenten looked at her teammate, worry evident in her eyes. Of the three of them, Lee was the last to get his first kill – she had killed a bandit on an early mission with the team, and Neji routinely killed anyone who got in the way of their mission. But for both of them, their kills were on people who were their enemies, who were trying actively to kill them and the rest of the team. Lee's kill though… had been the most brutal of the fights, and despite the power shown by the other Gennin, the only one that had ended in a fatality.

She rubbed her forehead and glanced over at the other person supporting the shaken shinobi. Shock made her do a double take – had she seen concern in the pale eyes of the former Rookie of the Year? It was faint, but it was there, she hadn't been seeing things.

"Neji… see if you can find Gai-sensei." The prodigy nodded sharply and closed his eyes, activating his Kekkei Genkai. He hid his disquiet when he realized that he still couldn't see properly from his left eye, and scanned around for their sensei. It took a fair bit of searching, but eventually he spotted the older version of their teammate chasing a silver haired man around in the Forest of Death.

"He's found Hatake-san again Tenten. Let's go." The pale eyed Gennin threw his unresponsive teammate over his shoulder and took off towards Gai, with Tenten only half a pace behind him. As they darted through the forest, the teen reflected on his fight against the shadow manipulator, and wondered again why the boy obviously, to him, conceded the defeat when he could have kept going.

_"This wasn't the smartest way to end the fight, nor was it the best way. But it was the fastest route that might lead to a victory for me, and thus, taking your Hakke, which I knew ahead of time that you could do, was a necessary sacrifice." _Shikamaru's words haunted the boy – there were other paths that could have defeated him? _Is there more than one path that Fate lays before us?_ He shook the thoughts from his mind and glanced towards Tenten, tilting his head to one side to indicate where their sensei was.

The trio burst from the trees to find Kakashi reading his porn while ignoring the shouting of Gai. When they arrived, both Jounin glanced at them, with the silver haired Dog Summoner returning his gaze to his book quickly. The Taijutsu Master though, was staring at his favorite student with confusion and concern mixing in his gaze. A silent query from the older green clad male brought an explanation of what happened, though not what the victim looked like after the kill. Tenten quieted down as Neji set Lee on his feet, watching as Gai pulled the boy into a tight embrace and whispered into his ear.

It was quite some time before Lee's expression returned to anything even close to a normal human expression. But even then, his kunoichi teammate could tell it would be a while before Lee's inner strength recovered from the shock of killing a quasi-ally.

_**Forest of Death – Tower Stadium**_

Shino stared blankly at his opponent, who was shuffling back and forth on his feet nervously. Despite Iruka's already having started the fight, neither shinobi had made a single move to attack. Currently, the people in the stands were getting upset with the lack of action from the quiet duo. Only a few people weren't getting rambunctious – Naruto, who was busy thinking about what he had overheard and wondering who it was that Sasuke had met in the Forest of Death; Hinata, who was just always quiet; and Temari and Gaara, who both knew that their brother's style was more reactionary than offensive to begin with.

It came as a surprise to both of them when Kankuro finally attacked. The Sand shinobi brought one arm around to the wrapped object on his back and dug his hand between it and his back. When his arm whipped out, shuriken sliced through the air towards Shino. The insect wielder tilted one eyebrow impassively and easily dodged the shuriken. Too late, his Kikaichou warned him of the wires attached to the projectiles. He looked up and saw Kankuro jerking his hands together. As he felt the wires tightening around his body, the Aburame Heir quickly created a Bug Clone hidden directly behind himself, and Kawarimi'd with it.

The wires sliced through the figure of the Konoha Gennin, giving the Sunagakure ninja a sense of triumph that lasted barely half a second before shattering when he saw victim of his attack melt apart into hundreds of bugs. He growled under his breath, caught off guard by the fact that Shino hadn't used hand seals or said the name of his technique.

_Of course. Stupid me, it's a damn Kekkei Genkai, not a clan technique like the Ino-Shika-Chou jutsu are. They don't NEED to say the names of their techs. And pulling off a Kawarimi is child's play for a ninja who wants to be a Chounin. Dammit I got complacent!_ The Sand teen snarled under his breath again, then quieted lest he give the ruse away.

Shino meanwhile was testing something. He sent a trio of his Kikaichou towards the person before him, and listened closely to their chittering when they returned. The dark glasses turned up, the eyes hidden behind them regarding the Kankuro in front of him, who his insect partners had just said did not exist. He was forced to roll to the side when the figure in front of him threw another set of shuriken at him, this time going far enough to avoid any wires that might be connected to them. The Aburame Heir sent another set of his insects out, this time towards the bundle on the Suna Gennin's back. His eyes narrowed tensely when the figure reacted to these Kikaichou, destroying them when they got within a foot or so of the bundle.

_So the Ninja in front of me does not exist to me insects, and that same ninja is obsessively defending the package on his back. And Suna _is_ well known for their puppetry techniques. It wouldn't be too great of a stretch of the imagination to surmise that my adversary is a Kugetsu practitioner._ His theory confirmed enough for him to thoroughly test it, Shino channeled chakra to his insects, gathering many into a tight orb between the palms of his hands.

Kankuro watched through the tiny set of mirrors, wondering what his opponent was up to. Rather than give the Leaf ninja a chance to finish his technique, the boy twitched his fingers, initiating another brace of shuriken with wires attached to them being set towards Shino. His eyes widened in shock when the other boy only moved enough to avoid having his hands disturbed – it meant taking a shuriken directly into his shoulder to do so.

Shino ignored the flare of pain from his injured shoulder, conceding the blow in order to finish his technique. He pulled his arms back then threw them forwards, sending the orb of Kikaichou hurtling towards the figure he was fighting. Said figure brought its arms up to block, a poor choice. When the leading edge of the insect orb impacted on the defending arms, it shattered apart, sending Kikaichou streaming across the surface of the figure' body.

For a long, tense moment, nothing happened. Then came a creaking sound, followed by a sight that shocked those who didn't know that Kankuro was a puppet user. The boy collapsed into himself, seeming to fall into pieces. The wrapped bundle from his back rolled across the floor, only to be stopped by Shino stepping on it. The Kekkei Genkai wielder jerked the weapon from his shoulder and knelt down beside the object. With a single swift move, he sliced it apart.

"Damn it. Proctor, I forfeit." Kankuro was frozen in place, his own shuriken placed against his throat. As soon as the words left his mouth, the shinobi holding him down stood up and dropped the throwing weapon beside him.

"Shousa, Aburame Shino!" Iruka's shout rang through the stadium. The Konoha ninja nodded to his former teacher and headed back to the stands while Kankuro scooped up his puppet that was still disguised as himself. He sighed and slung it across his shoulders as he trudged back up to where his brother and sister were sitting, cursing his luck at fighting someone who drained chakra.

Now, Ino began perking up. They had said that she would be getting to fight someone, and now she was the last Konoha ninja left who hadn't fought, and there was only one other person left besides her. She sagged slightly when she realized that she had no clue on what her opponent would be using, but then brightened again when she remembered that the same was true of her for her opponent.

"TSUCHI KIN AND YAMANAKA INO, GET DOWN HERE SO WE CAN FINSH THIS EVENT!" The two girls hurried down the stairs and took up positions across from each other. They glared at each other, both desperate to win – Ino to show that she wasn't reliant upon her teammates for everything, and Kin because she wanted a chance to fight the Konoha ninja who had killed her teammate.

"You two ready?" Nods answered Iruka's query. "Alright then. LET THE FINAL MATCH OF THE PRELIMINARY FIGHTS BEGIN! HAJIME!" The proctor shunshin'd back to his post and watched the developing fight.

The blonde kunoichi opened the battle, starting off by throwing a flurry of kunai and shuriken at the Otogakure ninja The targeted girl ducked, dodged and weaved backwards, adroitly avoiding the mishmash of weapons being thrown at her. She soon saw that unlike the other Leaf Kunoichi, her opponent was not a weapon user. All too soon, Ino's throws fell into a predictable pattern, and for ninja, unless one is much, much more skilled, or stronger than the other person, being predictable usually leads to being dead.

The Sound Gennin began her counterattack when she was certain she knew the pattern of how Ino was throwing her weapons. At the rate the blonde girl was attacking, she would soon run out of things to throw unless she followed the Weapons Mistress's example and had dozens of storage scrolls hidden on her body. When Kin saw the falter in the stream of metal bits being thrown towards her, she immediately unleashed her own weapons – senbon with thin wires strung to them, with bells on those wires. She deliberately aimed around the Konoha kunoichi, knowing that until you had trained your reactions exquisitely, then a ninja would only dodge weapons thrown directly at them.

She ducked and rolled in a circle around the blonde girl, trapping Ino inside of a ring of senbon with bells. Just after she had the last one in place, her opponent ran out of things to throw. Moving quickly to prevent the trapped girl from pulling one of the senbon up and throwing it back towards her, Kin tugged on the strings in her hand, sending vibrations down the metal filaments that set all of the bells to jangling discordantly. The raucous noise disoriented the blonde as she began running through the seals for her clan's technique. She didn't see Kin suddenly look down and grin in glee.

_Bitch wants to try taking over MY mind does she? Wants to make me forfeit? Hell no!_ She knelt down swiftly and grabbed up one of the insects on the floor – one of Shino's Kikaichou that had tried to get at the bundle on the puppeteers back before Shino worked out what he was fighting. Luckily for Kin's spur of the moment scheme, the insect was still alive, though barely. She grinned again, maliciously, when she saw that her sound disorientation had been effective enough so that Ino couldn't see clearly enough to detect what she had picked up.

"Yamanaka Clan Jutsu: Mind-Body Transfer!"Ino's consciousness raced outwards, rapidly clearing away the confusion brought on by the jangling bells. Too late though, she saw that her intended target had something in her hand, and that she was holding that whatever it was up bin her mind's path.

A sensation of vertigo stuck the blonde girl as her consciousness sank into the body it had invaded. She opened her eyes, praying that she had successfully taken over Kin. Her mind began screaming when she realized that the image she was seeing was taken in from multi-faceted eyes. The disgust that the girl felt weakened her hold on the Transfer technique. Then the other voices began washing through her mind, inundating her with thoughts that weren't her own. Slowly, the other thoughts coalesced into a single notion.

"NOT OURS! GET OUT!" Whatever it was that she had tapped literally shattered the technique and threw her consciousness back to her own body. Ino curled on her side rocking back and forth, trying to banish the phantom sensation of being an insect from her body. Kin watched this with curiosity, before shrugging and pulling out a kunai and striding to Ino. She brought the blade up and was about to plunge it down to end the blonde girl's life when Iruka's voice shot out.

"Shousa, Tsuchi Kin!" For a moment, the Oto girl pondered ignoring the warning and finishing off her opponent anyway. But then she remembered that she still had a mission from her master to complete, and that it couldn't be done properly if Dosu was the only one from their squad who made it to the Finals. She snarled angrily at the comatose form of Ino, who was still rocking back and forth while clutching her head. Then the Sound kunoichi spun on her heel and stalked back to the stands.

"Iruka-san, this girl needs to be taken to her father's office immediately. Take her and go. Tell him that she transferred into the mind of a Kikaichou, he'll know what to do." The scar faced shinobi nodded, already used to Ibiki's sudden arrivals. He picked the catatonic girl up and took off towards Inoichi's office, hoping that whatever was wrong with the blonde girl could be cured.

When Iruka had left, the Main Proctor looked over at the people in the stands. Several of the weaker willed Gennin shivered under his hard stare.

"Alright maggots! If you won your fight, get down here!" The winners stood up, Kin looking angry at the fact that she had just gotten back to her seat when she was ordered to return to the stadium floor. Slowly, each person lined up.

"Alright, to determine your fights for the final Exams, each person is going to pick a number between one and eleven. Yes, one of you will have to fight twice – The Kages and Proctors will pick that person though, no volunteering."

"Three." Naruto's voice rang out first.

"Seven." Hinata poked her fingers together and tried pulling her head back into her jacket.

"Six." Kiba grinned ferally.

"Nine." Shino's monotone claimed his number.

"One." The edge of Gaara's lip twitched slightly as he spoke.

"Eight." Temari shrugged and tapped her fan.

"Eleven." Yugito went with the theory that more was better – after all, the Nine Tails was supposedly infinitely stronger than the One Tail.

"Four." Dosu cracked his neck, shaking the jitters from the electric shock out of his system. He was nervous though, wondering who it was that had done that when he hadn't seen anyone near by.

"Alright. The Hyuuga boy will have ten, the weapons girl will have two, and the taijutsu kid will have five. Any questions?" The dark gaze of Ibiki swept over the Gennin in front of him. When there was no response, he nodded. "The fights will be as follows. One and two." Gaara tilted his head, acknowledgingly. "Three and four." Naruto grinned evilly. This would be his chance to properly put the beat down on the gauntleted boy. "Five and six." Kiba gulped. "Seven and eight." Hinata and Temari glanced at each other. "Nine and ten." Shino raised one eyebrow.

"Now then, you know who you'll fight. Nii-san, when it comes time for your fight, the judges will choose someone for you to fight." The girl nodded once. "Good. You have one month until the Finals. I suggest you practice a new move, something to catch your opponent off guard. Dismissed!" He cut his arm across in front of himself. The assembled Gennin nodded and shot out of the building, going as fast as they could to their homes to get some rest and sleep before the month of training that was coming to them.

"Blondie, hold up." The two blondes froze. "Not you Kumo girl. Go on." Yugito nodded and continued on while Naruto turned around to look at Ibiki. The man pulled out a small blue book and tossed it to the boy. "You might want to read that. It's the latest edition of the Bingo Book." With that, the proctor shimmered and vanished. The Jinchuruuki shrugged and cracked open the book, flipping through the pages until he came to a familiar face.

_**(AN: And end. This quasi cliffie leads into the next 'chapter', which will be the Bingo Book information on the Apartment Gang. Hope everyone enjoyed Lee's fight, and yes, Lee's first kill will have an effect on him. Sorry that the other fights weren't too long, but I wanted to finish this chapter under six thousand words. That's not counting review responses.**_

_**Speaking of which:**_

_**Review Responses:**_

_**Raidentensho:**_

_Yes, yes it does. And I do plan on having 'Ruto say the line :"This is my boom-stick" at least once._

_**Fanficreader71:**_

_Hope you liked this chapter too._

_**No – I'm not on Facebook:**_

_His truncheon, his wind, and anything else lol. And I do keep trying for unique things! Though someone with a more tactical mind could probably make a better match between them than I did._

_**Seranamoonrose:**_

_Ah, but Sasuke didn't admit to that. He just admitted to having a master stronger than Dosu's lord. And Dosu never said he worked for Orochimaru – he referred to his lord as the Otokage. And Naruto couldn't go to an authority figure – if he tried, it would be two against one, and it's already been shown to him that the Uchiha is still favored. Though he knows something is up, and is on guard now!_

_**Scorpio:**_

_Hmm. Hope you kept reading and enjoying it!_

_**Firelordeg:**_

_Here's the next chappie! Hope you enjoy it._

_**Dragon and Sword Master:**_

_Lol, not a problem. And uhm, it's not that I don't remember, it's that I just plain don't know. Shishishi._

_Thanks! Like No, I haven't seen another fight between the two of them anywhere, so I thought it would be fun, especially to mess with Neji with Shika's laziness._

_**Wyrtha:**_

_Yeah, the old, impetuous Naruto is still around, and I couldn't have him finding out about Sasuke's master until later, so he jumped the gun on it when Temari was insulted. And thanks, but don't get your hopes up too much – Naruto's usage of Raiton will be restricted a bit._

_**Kiyomos:**_

_Indeed, indeed._

_**Sythangelwing:**_

_Aww, but not this time, sad day._

_Zaku's death was going to be a bit less…brutal, but then I read your review and well, now his demise is a tribute to you lol. Hope you like it. –mad cackle-_

_Eh, maybe you'll come up with some after this chapter._

_**Lostmyshoeinsheol:**_

_Yes, he is just that lazy. I figured it would be better to have Neji advance than to have him advance though, so. Yup, that's another pair that will come later (Kiba and the cloud girl will replace Shika/Tema in this story concept.) And as for a love polyhedron with Naruto, wait until Haku catches up to Temari. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter!_

_**James Larthol**_

_Ah my friend, don't worry too much. And I hope you liked these three fights. XD._

_**Still not dead yet:**_

_Don't worry, Hinata was going to advance either way. But I wanted Naruto to put the smack down on Bakine, and this worked for that. Hinata has her own trump cards that she didn't even get a chance to show, so she isn't going to be a push over in the Finals._

_I thought about that one, and realized that supposedly the Byakugan can see through Henges, which are just masses of chakra applied to the skin. If the All Seeing Eyes can ignore that, then lesser amounts of chakra (IE enough to control a shadow) wouldn't even register. Hope that explains it a little._

_The Bingo Book chapter is next, and it won't be the only time I do one. As for the element cycle:_

_Fire beats Wind, Wind beats Lightning, Lightning beats Earth, Earth beats Water, Water beats Fire. It isn't too uncommon to have a secondary element that could beat your primary, but having a secondary element that is weak to your primary IS rare. And no, since Naruto is the only one who knows he used the lightning (aside from the Kyuubi), it won't be in the Bingo Book._

_Hope you like what happens in Ino's real fight – and it isn't that she got into a bug's mind, it's that she got into a Kikaichou's mind. That'll be explained later on._

_**Alright my reviewers, I have a very important question to ask.**_

_**I am going to be starting two new stories soon, a Harry Potter fic and another Naruto fic. **_

_**Each one will have a game tied in slightly. The games are going to be:**_

_**Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem and**_

_**Nier.**_

_**Both are going to tie in with the fact that the main character finds a tome that gives them special abilities. My question is this:**_

_**Which fic should get which game? Nier's tome is Grimiore Wiess, a talking sarcastic book that gives access to a set of powerful magic attacks.**_

_**Eternal Darkness's tome is the Tome of Eternal Darkness, which gives a wider range of magic, but less attack stuff.**_

_**Pick one set and tell me!  
Naruto x Nier and Harry Potter x Eternal Darkness**_

_**Or**_

_**Naruto x Eternal Darkness and Harry Potter x Nier.**_


	27. Chapter 26 In The Bingo Book!

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**_

_**Chapter 26: In The Bingo Book!**_

_**AN: Alright everyone! This chapter isn't really a chapter, but the information on the Rei crew! Don't bother reading this if you are waiting for the next real chapter. Also, the last entry will be a spoiler for an OC who is coming up in a while. JA ne!**_

_**Bingo Book Entry # 132**_

_Name:_

_ Rei-Uzumaki Ronnel_

_Known Aliases:_

_ Hunter of the Blood God, Clone Swarm of the Hot Springs_

_Caliber:_

_ Low S_

_Special Abilities:_

_Has the ability to recreate nearly any Clone technique he has seen. At time that this edition is being made, he only lacks a few Kekkei Genkai only clones – such as the Bone clone of the Kaguya. Any elementally derived clones (Sand, Earth, Wind, Water, Lightning, Wood, Ice) are within his abilities. High skill in elemental manipulation._

_Weapons:_

_Rei-Uzumaki favors two weapons: A six foot claymore, with a midnight black blade. The hilt is plain leather wrapped around a simple grip, with a pommel that is not unlike a kunai's. His secondary weapon is a long sword of approximately three feet. This blade is mirror-reflective, directly opposite of the pitch black claymore. Hilt is also plain leather on a simple grip, though the pommel on this one has a gem embedded in it that Rei-Uzumaki keeps covered for unknown reasons. Two rumors currently exist about this young man and his weapons, both rather worrisome: One, that his claymore was forged by the legendary Satonashi, the same man who created the blades of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. The second is that he recently acquired the Kusanagi, the blade formerly wielded by Orochimaru of the Sannin. If either of these is true, then only approach this shinobi with a full team of Jounin._

_Known Elemental Affinities: _

_ Fuuton, Suiton_

_Skills:_

_ Kenjutsu_

_ Taijutsu (Kaiheiken)_

_ Fuuton shoshijutsu_

_ Suiton shoshijutsu_

_ Fuuinjutsu (limited)_

_ Genjutsu (limited)_

_Physical Description:_

_ Stands at six and a half feet tall, approximately two hundred pounds in weight. Dark brown hair, forest green eyes that reportedly glow when chakra is channeled to them (No special abilities discerned when active). Typical attire is mottled black and brown combat boots from the Western Regions, tan cargo pants, dark brown tank top, and wears a silver trench coat that he leaves open unless he is preparing to fight. Has a black sheathe for the longsword that belts to his waist, while his claymore is slung over his shoulder on a simple brown cord._

_Description:_

_ Rei-Uzumaki Ronnel hails from the now destroyed Village Hidden in the Hot Springs. One of the most publicly known survivors, he is always on guard for the chance to fight the man who obliterated the Hidden Hot Springs, Hidan. This is despite knowing that said man is a known follower of the Dark God, Jashin. Has supposedly discovered the secret behind the immortality of Jashinist Masters who have completed the final Dark Rite._

_ Approach with caution – this shinobi has high A-low S caliber skills in Kenjutsu, Ninjutsu. Harming this man will be nigh on impossible – in order to fight the Jashinists, subject has trained his evasion skills unto high S-caliber. Uses a strange combat style named the 'Kaiheiken' or 'Evasion Strike Fist' which is utterly effective in avoiding blows while simultaneously landing crippling blows on his opponent. _

_ Supposedly a virtuous ninja, subject is reported to only take assassination missions when the target has a connection to Jashin, or Jashinist activity. Is a 'do-gooder' – always eliminates bandits and the like whenever he encounters them. If you are not his opponent, avoid committing obvious crimes when near him, else he is likely to make you his next adversary._

_Known Family:_

_ Subject has an adopted younger brother. Interest in Mitarashi Anko is well reported by various witnesses, despite the tendency of the Snake Sannin to take an unhealthy interest in those who get close to his former apprentice. Rumors of a former girlfriend in the Hidden Hot Springs village exist, lending credence to the theory that his drive to kill Hidan is fueled by a thirst for vengeance for loved ones._

_Village:_

_ Subject is currently a member of Konohagakure, standing in the rank of Jounin-sensei. Formerly a member of the Village Hidden in the Hot Springs, until said village was destroyed by a traitor. _

_Bounty:_

_ Wanted Alive in: Kumo, Kiri – Bounties offered ninety thousand and eighty five thousand ryo respectively. _

_ Wanted Dead in: Iwa, Oto – Bounties offered one hundred thousand and seventy five thousand ryo respectively._

_**Bingo Book Entry #167 **_

_Name:_

_ Mitarashi Anko_

_Known Aliases:_

_ Snake Mistress, Torture Goddess_

_Caliber:_

_ High A_

_Special Abilities:_

_ Snake Summoner. Does not summon the Boss, Manda, but uses many snake based jutsu and attacks. Is also widely known for her uncanny skill in torture and interrogation, rivaling Kizuato no Ibiki as one of the 'Top People You Do __**NOT**__ Want To Be Interrogated By.' _

_Weapons:_

_ Kunai, shuriken, etc. (Typical ninja loadout.)_

_Known Elemental Affinities:_

_ Doton_

_Skills:_

_ Taijutsu_

_ Torture and Interrogation_

_ Kuchiyose _

_ Kuchiyose Ninjutsu_

_ Ninjutsu (minor)_

_Physical Description:_

_ Stands at five feet and seven inches tall. Weighs in at one hundred and seventy five pounds. Dark eyes. Signature purple hair, familial trait. Wears fishnet undergarments, and a tan trench coat that is sewn to the fishnet in certain locations to maintain a minor level of decorum._

_Description:_

_ The former apprentice of the Snake Sannin Orochimaru. When the Sannin betrayed his village, he took his apprentice with him. She was later found abandoned on a beach, with amnesia of her time outside of the village. She was also found to have been experimented on – the results of these experiments, or what the experiments were, are either unknown or a high class secret._

_ Despite the stigma of having been a traitor's apprentice, Mitarashi has managed to rise to the rank of Tokubetsu Jounin within the forces of Konohagakure. She was taken under the watchful eye of one Morino Ibiki, and has shown clear evidence that she follows in his footsteps as a torture and interrogation master._

_ It is advised that anyone who wishes to get close to Mitarashi rethink this immediately. This is because, through means unknown to her, her former sensei is observing her. It has been recorded that any time someone tries to become familiar with the Jounin, Orochimaru appears and eliminates him. To date, only two people are exempt from this – Yuuhi Kurenai, a Jounin of considerable skill with Genjutsu who normally has another Jounin, Sarutobi Asuma, around; and Rei-Uzumaki Ronnel, who is recent enough that Orochimaru has not made a move against him yet. This is expected to change soon._

_ Subject has considerable skill with the Hebi style of Taijutsu, rivaling or surpassing her former teacher's considerable skill. She also has access to the Snake Summons, which gives her a powerful edge in combat, especially when mixing summoning in with her Taijutsu, as is the wont of practitioners of Hebi. Approach the subject only with three or more Chuunin, or two or more Jounin if you do not desire multiple casualties._

_Known Family:_

_ Subject has no known living family. Is close friends with Yuuhi Kurenai, and Rei-Uzumaki Ronnel._

_Village:_

_ Konohagakure._

_Bounty:_

___Wanted Dead or Alive in: Kiri, Kumo, Oto – Bounties Offered forty five thousand, fifty thousand, and eighty thousand ryo respectively._

_**Bingo Book Entry #238**_

_Name: _

_ Uzumaki-Rei Naruto_

_Known Aliases:_

_ Kaze Kitsune (Wind Fox)_

_Caliber:_

_ High C, Low B_

_Special Abilities:_

_ High levels of chakra lend to insanely overpowered techniques. Most unique ability would be a Fuuton/Kuchiyose Hybrid that creates a quasi-sentient entity, a fox constructed of wind which granted him his moniker._

_Weapons:_

_ Staff made of a rare wood that has been proven to be highly resistant to heat. New reports indicate that the subject has also acquired a blade crafted by Satonashi, famed weaponsmith who forged the swords of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. Abilities of this blade are currently unknown._

_Known Elemental Affinities:_

_ Fuuton (High)_

_Skills:_

_ Bojutsu_

_ Kenjutsu_

_ Shoshijutsu (Fuuton)_

_ Fuinjutsu (Intermediate)_

_ Taijutsu (Kaiheiken, low/intermediate)_

_Physical Description:_

_ Subject stands just under five and a half feet tall, weighing one hundred and fifty seven pounds. Has bright blonde hair, cerulean blue eyes that have streaks of crimson in the iris. Wears dark blue combat boots, dark brown cargo pants, dark grey undershirt, military vest of unknown origin forest green in color, and a black and white bucket hat. __**(AN: Think Urahara Kisuke's hat from Bleach, but with black instead of green)**__. Black sheathes for his staff and blade. Distinguishing facial feature – whiskerlike scars, three on each cheek. Unknown cause._

_Description:_

_ Little background information is available on this shinobi. First appeared beside his older brother Rei-Uzumaki Ronnel when the two eliminated a bandit camp in Hi no Kuni. After the camp was destroyed, a team of Iwagakure Chuunin was dispatched to investigate rumors of the Kaze Kitsune spoken of by the near dead survivors. _

_ Little is known about what happened beyond the following: Two of the three Chuunin were incapacitated by Ronnel, only for said shinobi to be caught off guard by the third. The subject (Uzumaki-Rei Naruto) then is reported to have had the crimson streaks in his eyes completely dominate the blue (Possible Kekkei Genkai) and unleashed his unique Kuchiyose, which summons a construct made of Wind chakra. The construct showed independence beyond anything save the fabled Kage Bunshin of Konohagakure. The three Iwa nin were eliminated rapidly by the subject and his summoned construct. _

_ At last report, subject is a Konohagakure shinobi and is participating in the Chuunin Exams._

_Known Family:_

_ Adoptive older brother, Rei-Uzumaki Ronnel._

_Village:_

_ Konohagakure_

_Bounty: _

_ Wanted Dead in: Iwa, Oto – Bounties offered are five thousand and eight thousand respectively._

_ Note: Rumor in Iwagakure indicates that subject might be the son of the Kiroii Senko (Yellow Flash). If proof of this can be brought to Iwa along with the subject, offered bounty is one hundred thousand ryo._

_**Bingo Book Entry #239**_

_Name:_

_ Momochi Haku_

_Known Aliases:_

_ Ice Medic_

_Caliber:_

_ Intermediate B._

_Special Abilities:_

_ Kekkei Genkai: Hyoton. Medical techniques, one handed jutsu._

_Weapons:_

_ Preferred weapon is the senbon._

_Known Elemental Affinities:_

_ Hyoton. (Suiton/Fuuton Hybrid, possible usage of these main elements suspected.)_

_Skills:_

_ Taijutsu_

_ Iryojutsu_

_ Shoshijutsu (Hyoton, possible Suiton and Fuuton)_

_ Anatomy_

_ Tracking_

_Physical Description:_

_ Subject stands at five feet six inches, weight unknown (inquirers lost the ability to reproduce, regardless of gender). Wears dark kimonos of various shades. Dark brown hair, light blue eyes._

_Description:_

_ History of the subject is largely unknown. Believed to be the adopted daughter of Momochi Zabuza (she has a Kekkei Genkai, he does not), who has gone missing and is presumed dead. All data on her that is known is due to reports from Konoha contributors. Subject is a medic in the local ninja hospital, and arrived with high levels of knowledge and medical skill. _

_Known Family:_

_ Dead._

_Village:_

_ Konohagakure_

_Bounty:_

_ Wanted Dead or Alive in Kirigakure, Bounty is fifteen thousand or twenty thousand ryo._

_**SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER**_

_**Do not read below this point unless you wish to see who the new OC is going to be. You have been warned!**_

_**Bingo Book Entry #347**_

_Name:_

_ Yasukawa Zenli_

_Known Aliases:_

_Bearer of Pain_

_Caliber:_

_ High A_

_Special Abilities:__  
Kekkei Genkai; High Chakra, Multiple Affinities, high resistance to genjutsu._

_Weapons:_

_ Tanto, normal loadout._

_Known Elemental Affinities:_

_ Suiton, Raiton, Doton_

_Skills:_

_ Kekkei Genkai Ninjutsu_

_ Shoshijutsu (Suiton, Raiton, Doton)_

_ Taijutsu (minor)_

_Physical Description:_

_ Subject stands at five feet eight inches tall, weight unknown (those who inquired were found mentally damaged through means unknown). Dark blue hair, dark purple eyes. Wears fishnet armor, black shirt with sections removed (upper chest and stomach); black skirt of strange material, black shinobi sandals._

_Description:_

_ Information on this kunoichi only recently surfaced through a rather odd manner – the subject brought her information to the Bingo Book writers herself. Claims to be trying to have a certain man find her,and stated that having her information in the Book would be the swiftest method to ensure that happening._

_ Beyond minor information on her Kekkei Genkai – that it enables her to use a unique kind of chakra but comes with the rather hefty price of causing her to always be in extreme agony – the information provided by the subject was scarcely enough to fill out the Bingo Book Entry on her._

_Known Family:_

_ None._

_Village:_

_ None._

_Bounty:_

_ Not currently wanted by any villages – though any information on this kunoichi would be welcomed._

_**AN:**_

_**Alright, there it is, the first peek at the next OC who will be appearing. Sorry that I didn't put more down, but that would give away parts of the story that haven't been hinted at yet.**_

_**If people want more Bingo Book Entries, or think I should do these slightly differently (maybe ask for a certain bit of info not included here), put it in your reviews! And yes, I do mean that if I get enough requests, I'll probably do another of these chapters focusing either on these characters later on, or on other characters altogether (Sasuke anyone? Lol.)**_

_**Reviews are loved! And so far, in both reviews and the poll, my next full stories will be NarutoxNier and HPxEternal Darkness. If you don't want that, then say so people! Thankee all, review responses and out!**_

_**Review Responses:**_

_**Umbra8191:**_

_Here's the next one, sorry it's not a true chapter._

_**Marc:**_

_Lee will be changed, but how, well, you'll just have to wait and see. ^.^_

_**Naginator:**_

_Here's the Bingo Book info, the talk about their relationship will come next chapter. Thankee!_

_**Too Lazy To Log In:**_

_For what happened with Ino's jutsu, read one of the reviews below, it'll explain it fully. And as forThat fight well, remember that someone will be fighting twice after all._

_**Fuuton God:**_

_The First person to place a vote on this matter! Hope you'll still read them if they end up voting the other way though._

_**Raidentensho:**_

_Sorry, 'Ruto's got his swords. He has something else in mind for the false Kubikiri Houcho. And yes, yes she is._

_**Queenwitch:**_

_The second vote, and you balance it out lol._

_Ok, here's what happened in the fight there:_

_Kin knows about the techniques of the Yamanaka clan. Why?:_

_They're famous – Ino-Shika-Cho was renowned throughout the Elemental Countries because of their fathers. _

_The leader of her village is Orochimaru – former Sannin of Konoha. He told his ninja what he knew of their abilities so that his forces would fare better._

_Now, with that knowledge, she knew that Ino would try getting into her head. So, she grabbed a bug from nearby. No, she didn't know it was a Kikaichou, that was just bad luck for Ino. Kin was planning on taking out Ino while the girl's mind was trapped in some random beetle's body, the incident with the Kikaichou Hive Mind was completely unplanned. And as for looking at her dead to rights – the way I see it, it's not whether the user of the Yamanaka clan's techniques is looking at someone, it's what is between them. In the series, from what I remember, when Ino uses her technique it is Shikamaru holding the person in place, not Chouji, despite the fact that either could do that. I thought about why, and came up with this:_

_The Yamanaka clan technique that Ino uses so much launches the mind/soul/consciousness in a straight line towards what she's looking at. If something living gets in the way (ie: a bug, or Chouji's hand/arm) then her ability latches on to that instead of her intended target._

_How did Ibiki know what happened? He's a Jounin in charge of Torture and _Interrogation_**. **__That means he has to pay attention to all kinds of minute details, even the ones that people in the arena don't. Such as what the beetle was, and where it had come from. And besides, he works with Inoichi in the Interrogation department, which means he's talked with the man often. At least, that's how I see it. So the two might have discusses what happens for Inoichi when he goes in to different people's minds, and I thought that at least once, Ino One would have accidentally gone in to a Kikaichou's body during a spar with an Aburame. The results of that came out while talking with Ibiki, and thus, the man knew the signs when he saw them in Ino._

_I'm sorry that the fight ruined the chapter for you, and hope that it hasn't ruined the story._

_**SythAngelwing:**_

_-wags finger- ah ah ah. I reply to people in the order they review._

_Yes, yes he did. Nothing left of Zaku – now, how many people realized that that means that he can't be used for Orochimaru's little Edo Tensei?_

_Here's the Bingo Book, the next Naru pwn jutsu will come out during the Finals, and it will be a single target jutsu, not area effect._

_**Fanficreader71:**_

_Hope you like info given here._

_**Geetac:**_

_Sorry it's not a real chapter, the next one will be out a bit later._

_**Lostmyshoeinsheol:**_

_Another quick update, though this is a bit shorter than the real chapters._

_Yes, and I have a plan for that one as well. ^.^_

_It's Lee. He didn't realize it – he fights against Neji who can deflect everything just about, or Tenten who knows to stay the fuck away from in, or Gai, who is just as insanely tough as he is._

_And Ino was rejected by the Hive Mind, which was supra pissed lol._

_In the end actually, I'll do all four stories (Each universe with each book injected), I'm just trying to figure out which two to focus on first. I do know that however the vote comes out, I'll be starting the HP one first since I already have a Naruto fic up. _

_**Still Not Dead Yet:**_

_Yup, and it's going to affect him._

_Kankuro's weapons actually had a minor poison on them, but his match up with Shino screwed him over. The bugsies in Shino took care of the sedative without the Aburame even realizing what had happened. Though that fight did kill more of Shino's Kikaichou than anything else he'd encountered, he just hasn't figured that out yet. He will soon though._

_Most people's are once they've done something outside the village, but I can format any character's info lol. Wonder how blank Kon's entry would be? Or how Gaara's would look? Maybe I should include them next time._

_Sorry, the Tome of E.D. is silent, it's just there. It's Grimoire Wiess that is sarcastic as hell._

_**Firelodeg:**_

_How's the info work for you?_

_**Green5723**__:_

_Thank you for that sirrah/madame._

_**Kiyomos:**_

_Ouch man, that sucks. I'm sorry that he died, and that you didn't know him that well. And relative stress is hellaciously aggravating. Sleep lots to get over the damnable jet lag._

_**No – I'm not on Facebook:**_

_Sorry it ain't a true chapter, but here's some of the info._

_**Dragon and Sword Master:**_

_Neji's faith fixation ain't shattered yet, that'll come later on. But it does have a crack in it now._

_As for the fight – I almost had Ino freak out over being in a normal bug's body, then I remembered that Shino had just fought, and well… hello Hive mind._

_**SunouNeozaki:**_

_The Tome doesn't just bring magic with it lol. It also brings Zombies, Horrors, and plain out demons of insanity. Though true, that is how it would fit in normal explanations._

_So now NarutoxNier and HPxED has two votes from reviews._

_**James Larthol:**_

_Almost? True. Here's the start of hre info, tell me if it fits what she would do lol. And the Final Exam fights will be longer, unless one person completely outclasses the other. (Naruto will be the exception there – he outclasses the others, but holds back so you'll just have to see.) And the gore gets your goat? Creepy._

_**Inarifoxkami:**_

_Candy?_

_**Dkh1212:**_

_The extra person inside Gaara? The insane priest who has been dealt with Naruto style. The next real chapter will be up in a few days, hope this tides you over._


	28. Chapter 27

_**Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own Naruto. **_

_**Chapter 27 – Unpleasant Memory, Relaxation!**_

_**Forest of Death – Tower Stadium**_

Naruto closed the Bingo Book that Ibiki had handed him and heaved a sigh. It seemed that the authors of the infamous Book had found out some of what happened during his and his brother's travels, but thankfully they hadn't uncovered all of Ronnel's secrets, nor had they found out that he was a Jinchuruuki. The blonde was a bit curious about the rumor from Iwagakure mentioned in his section, and wondered if it might be based in truth. He shrugged, putting it out of his mind for the moment. It would be easy enough to ask his brother later when they meet up.

_No time to worry about that right now. I need to catch up to Temari-chan so we can talk about earlier, then I'll have time to talk to him about the Stone ninja from earlier._ He ruffled his hair then strode forward half a pace before pausing. He turned something over in his mind, irritating the Kyuubi which tried to roll with the thing, then turned to look back at Ibiki.

"Ne, Morino-san, how are we supposed to get out of the Forest of Death? The entrances are sealed tight last I saw." The heavily scarred man chuckled and shook his head with a grin. He moved forward to where Naruto was and laid a hand on the blonde Jinchuruuki's shoulder.

"Figures that it would be you who catch on to that little tidbit. I'll explain though to set your mind at ease. We had Chuunin standing outside of the doors, using the Shunshin to take the maggots to specific points where they could then Shunshin out of the Forest. I'll take you out since you're the last Gennin in here. Shunshin no Jutsu." A gust of wind swept around the duo, kicking up leaves that hadn't existed seconds before. The leaves swirled around the two shinobi, obscuring them from sight for a brief moment. When the wind died down and the leaves stopped spinning, the Stadium was empty once more.

_**Outside The Forest of Death**_

There was a growing hustle and bustle as Gennin began recovering from what was, for many, their first Shunshin experience. The Chuunin proctors almost immediately began shepherding the younger shinobi and kunoichi away from the fenceline, many casting nervous glances back over their shoulders towards the Forest, as if afraid of something within it. Unfortunately for the poor older ninja, clumps began forming as acquaintances and friends met up and began chatting, like they couldn't in the stadium.

Temari ignored the talking, only noticing enough to see that there were more Gennin here than had been in the Preliminary fights. She figured that they were the ones who hadn't been able to find the pieces of the key, and had been forced to wait somewhere else in the Tower. She shrugged off the urgings to move that came from the proctor who had Shunshin'd her and her brothers out into the city, her eyes scanning through the crowd, searching for the distinctive combination of black and white fabric on top of blonde hair. It took a few moments, but she finally managed to spot the Konoha Jinchuruuki that her family was living with.

The kunoichi grabbed her brother's hands without thinking and began dragging them towards where she had spotted the blue eyed boy. A few steps after they started moving, her redheaded brother saw what had caught his sister's attention and sped up his own movements so that he was moving apace with Temari, instead of being dragged along behind her. Kankuro on the other hand just sighed and slumped over into dead weight, letting himself be pulled through the crowd, wincing occasionally when Temari jerked on his arm to hoist him out of the way of other ninja.

Naruto staggered only slightly as he and Ibiki appeared from the Jounin's Shunshin. The fact that the boy managed to maintain his balance so well caused the scarred man to raise an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Maintained your equilibrium well. How many times have you Shunshin'd before?" The cerulean orbs of the Demon Container slid over to look at the older man as he pulled his bucket hat off and ruffled his hair. Shaking his head minutely, he responded.

"Haven't. Aniki's got a speed technique that screws with your balance a lot, lot more than the Shunshin does. And since I used to pester him constantly for rides while he used that, I've gotten used to keeping steady up. The Shunshin, while a bit different, doesn't mess with your inner ear as badly as Aniki's trick does, so staying upright is a lot easier." As he finished answering the Jounin's question, the Jinchuruuki spotted a ripple moving in his direction through the crowd. He stared at it with puzzlement evident in his expression, then began grinning when he saw what was causing it. The boy's fingers twitched through a short sign message requesting that Ibiki remain for a discussion, something that startled the older man, before Naruto headed over to intercept Temari and her brothers.

As the two blondes finally managed to cut through the crowd to each other, Temari realized that she didn't have a single clue as to what to say to the native Jinchuruuki. And even had she known what to say, she certainly wouldn't voice it with both of her brothers right there with her. The kunoichi stifled a groan of aggravation at her hasty grab to drag her siblings with her. She opened her mouth to say something inane when a finger pressed against her lips.

"We can talk back at the Apartments Temari-chan. It'll be a bit more private than here with all of these other people."

"MOVE IT MAGGOTS!" Ibiki's strident voice cut through the last pockets of talking between the Gennin. With the Head Proctor yelling, the other proctors were finally able to get the large group of shinobi and kunoichi moving away from the fenceline. The fan-wielding Sand ninja was about to walk off when she saw that Naruto was standing still, as if waiting for something. She shot him a curious look, asking for an explanation with her expression.

"Sorry. I need to talk to Morino-san about something to do with the Tournament. It shouldn't take too long, but I'll have to catch up to you three later." The girl pouted, an image that sent a shiver down Naruto's spine. He managed to keep his resolve though, not wanting the kunoichi to hear what it was that he was talking to the Chief of Torture and Interrogation about. After a few seconds passed and the younger blonde didn't cave in to her outstretched lip, Temari grumbled and crossed her arms. A sharp nod preceded her stalking after her brothers, who had immediately started walking when Ibiki shouted.

Red-streaked blue eyes followed the pigtailed girl, until she turned a corner a fair distance down the street. Only when he was sure that the girl was out of range did he slide his hat back on and move back to Ibiki's side.

"What did you learn from the traitor?" The normally cheerful tone of the young ninja was harder than steel as he spoke. The scarred Jounin glanced over and noticed that the crimson streaks had grown slightly, and now took up nearly a fourth of the space in Naruto's irises. He pondered whether or not to tell the boy what had been extracted from the silver haired spy, and eventually decided to.

"Firstly, that he was never a traitor. He was a spy. His only loyalty was to Orochimaru no Densetsu no Sannin, never to Konohagakure. We did manage to confirm what we've heard from a few rumors and from Sunagakure – the Snake Sannin is officially the Otokage." When he said that, the man noticed a pensive look flash across the blonde's face, but it was gone so fast that he wasn't sure it had actually been there. "Aside from those two tidbits, most of it was confirmation of things we were already certain of. Kabuto did know a couple of other things, but those aren't on your need to know." He watched as Naruto's expression grew frustrated.

"I will say this too. I don't know what all you did in that fight when you captured him, but you had him terrified of even your name. Twice we were able to get additional information from him by threatening to bring you in to help with the interrogation." That made the Gennin chuckle and shake his head. "That it kid?"

"No. Morino-san, it would be a very good idea to have a security detail placed on the Uchiha Heir. I would suggest ANBU or Jounin. During the intermission when the stadium floor was being repaired, I overheard him talking with a Sound Gennin. The foreigner was trying to convince the Duckass haired one to switch his allegiance to Otogakure. Uchiha refused at the time, but from my experience with him, he is unstable enough that he would eventually take the offer if he believed that he would get stronger there." Ibiki frowned and nodded, considering what he knew of the boy, from his own observations and from the psyche evaluation that was ordered by Hatake a week after the debacle in Wave.

Suddenly the Jounin tensed up, his senses alerting him to something approaching him incredibly fast. He spun on his heel to face the direction the feeling was coming from, only to see a dust cloud approaching him. He was still bringing his guard up when the dust cloud vanished.

"Naruto. We need to talk. Now." Ibiki's head swiveled around in time to see Ronnel hoist Naruto off of the ground before the brothers vanished into another trail of dust.

"The hell?"

_**Training Grounds 17**_

Ronnel set his younger brother down on the field of the empty training grounds and crossed his arms.

"Explain." The Gennin stiffened slightly. For a moment, his eyes searched his adopted brother's face, trying to decipher his mood. When that failed against the blankly impassive stare that he was being given, the blonde slumped over and sighed.

"I was following your order Aniki. The Iwagakure team had found me, and tried killing me. I only used _that_ technique to make sure that they were all gone." He scrunched his head down, afraid of how his brother would react to him using his most devastating attack again. There was a noticeable flinch when he felt a hand on top of his head.

"Re-lax." Blue eyes shot up when those syllables were spoken. An expression of, not anger, nor joy, but acceptance was layered across the older ninja's face. "Seriously Otouto, relax. I saw the bodies, and assumed that someone had tried attacking Hinata or something. If I wasn't going to get angry at you for using _that_ in that situation, why would I get angry at you for using it in a situation that kind of demanded it? Especially when it's fulfilling one of the few orders I've ever given you as your sensei?" Naruto's face brightened immensely as he jumped up and threw his arms around his brother's neck. Seeing the relief in the Jinchuruuki's face, Ronnel finally smiled slightly.

"Alright, alright, enough of the sappy stuff. I only want that from Ko-chan. Speaking of which, we need to hurry back to the apartments. She has a surprise waiting for you." The words were no sooner out of his mouth than Naruto dropped down to his feet and took off towards their home, still with a relieved grin on his face.

The Rei-Uzumaki shook his head with a small quirk to his lips before following after his brother, albeit at a more sedate pace. As he followed the older, familiar route home, his mind traveled back to the first, and only other time, that Naruto had fully used his Kohai no Kami jutsu.

_**Despicable Author Style: Flashback Technique!**_

_**Small Bandit Camp just inside of Kami no Kuni (Lightning Country)**_

_A hand rubbed through dark hair as Ronnel studied the encampment in front of him._

_ "Here's the situation Naruto. This particular group of bandits has apparently been raiding homes out away from villages, or the outermost homes in a community. Because of this, there hasn't been a big enough stir to get Kumogakure involved. However, just because they aren't attacking proper villages doesn't mean they aren't committing atrocities." He thought back to the last house they had seen, with its walls painted red in the family's blood. "So we're going to use these rotten bastards as the final proving grounds for that new technique you've come up with. Start your hand seals out here, and I'll carry you in to the center of the camp. Don't worry, I'll get out of there before it goes off. And Naruto." The boy looked up at his trainer._

_ "Kill every last one of the fuckers." The would-be ninja nodded and began the stupidly long chain of hand seals for his second original wind technique. He was about half-way through the series when he felt Ronnel pick him up and began heading towards the camp. His eyes closed so he could keep his concentration on the hand signs, ignoring when he was tossed into the air, and the screams that sounded below him before he was caught. _

_ "Alright, here's the center of the encampment." Blue eyes snapped open to see Ronnel giving him a thumbs up before shooting back to the rooftops and hurrying away. He grinned savagely as he neared the end of the seal chain for his technique._

_ Ronnel was leaping across the roofs when he spotted something that made his blood run colder than Snow Country. Chained to a hitching post for a horse was a small girl, no more than six. From the way she was shaking and blood was running down her legs, it was obvious that the bandits had been using her for their pleasures. Normally the wanderer would be glad in this situation – after all, the rapists were about to be killed. But this was different – the girl would be caught in the attack as well, since Naruto had no control over who the technique hit or not. _

Fuck me sideways, I'm going to regret this. _The ninja changed his course and leapt down to the ground near the girl, who should have screamed in fright at the man suddenly appearing near her. Instead, she just looked at him, her face completely dead of emotions. _They've broken her. FUCK._ When he reached towards her, she finally reacted, cowering slightly as if expecting him to abuse her like the monsters that were about to be killed had been. When his arm went past her and snapped the chain that was holding her in place, she collapsed to the ground, revealing that the chain around her throat had actually been keeping her upright._

_ Then there was a cry of "__Fuuton: Kohai no Kami!__" from the direction that Ronnel had come from, and he knew his time was up. The man threw himself across the girl's frozen body and desperately began channeling his chakra into the air around him diverting everything to around him instead of where he, and the girl, were laying. The attack began. Giant blades of visible wind slammed in to the ground all around the bandit camp. Ronnel watched as a few feet away, a man who had run out of his little tent to see what the screaming was about was split in half by one blade. He heard a strange sound in the air above him, and realized with a feeling of dismay that one of the wind blades was falling towards him. The wanderer diverted every bit of chakra he had into the air directly on top of himself, creating a solid mass of wind. Even with that done, he felt the wind blade slice through his defense and slam into him. Luckily for him and the girl under him, the mass of wind and his own armor weakened the wind blade enough that he wasn't sliced apart by it. Instead, his back was torn open down to the bone, revealing his spine and the back of his ribs._

_ Fighting back tears of agony, Ronnel refocused his chakra to redirecting the wind currents around him, knowing what the second stage of the Kohai no Kami was. Tornados sprang from the sky, ripping through unsuspecting tents and men without warning, in some cases flaying the men alive with dirt and stones pulled from the ground. Against all odds, Ronnel's fast fading attempts at diverting the winds were successful. All around him, the ground was shredded by tornados and the last few wind blades, but the small spot where he and the girl were avoided destruction._

_ Fading in and out of consciousness, the wandering ninja lost track of time. He was seeing spots all across his vision when he saw his apprentice's face suddenly appear in front of his eyes. Naruto's mouth was wide open, screaming something, but whatever was being said was lost on the older man. He struggled mightily and lifted away from the ground, revealing the trembling girl hidden by his frame. The young boy pulled the child out from under his teacher, and watched in fear as the man collapsed to the ground, his eyes rolling around to show the whites._

_ "Oh man oh man oh man oh man not good! I need to get him out of here…. Kumo is close, but Konoha's on tense terms because of the Hyuuga incident and they might think we're spies… oh man oh man oh man… Kusagakure here we come! __Kaze Bunshin on Jutsu!__ I'm sorry miss, but you'll need to come with us for now." Several copies of Naruto assembled themselves from the blood filled wind around him, giving the clones a distinct red tinge. The clones picked the heavily wounded body of Ronnel up from the ground, holding him steady as possible as the real Naruto applied the emergency bandages from his and Ronnel's kits. The fabric stemmed the bleeding, but couldn't hide the fact that he was dying from blood loss. They bought the boy the time he needed though, so he scooped the six year old girl up from the ground where she had sat down and watched as he bandaged up his sensei, then he and his clones took off for the next closest village, Kusagakure._

_**Despicable Author Style: Flashback Release!**_

His feet had carried him to the main entrance of the Apartments as he had relived that day. Unconsciously, his left hand went to his shoulder and traced the top of the scar that had come from the horrible wound. In the time since then, Naruto had managed to block most of the memories of that day from his mind, something that his older brother was incredibly grateful for. The Gennin did not remember how close his sensei had come to death, and if Ronnel had his way, he never would.

The Jounin opened the front doors to see his girlfriend holding his younger brother upside down, pinning his arms to his sides as Temari and Haku painted on his face with make up stolen from Kankuro, who was off to one side laughing. When the sound of the door hinge squealing reached them, all five people jerked their heads around to the doorway. There was silence and stillness for a moment, then Ronnel walked backwards out of the building, ignoring his brother's pleas to be rescued from the women.

The ninja sighed and shook his head as he began walking up the side of the building. He reached one of the upper floors and jumped over the balcony railing, then nearly fell backwards when he saw Gaara's flame red hair directly in front of him.

"Hello Rei-Uzumaki-san. I take it you came this way to avoid the… scene in the front room?" The monotone way that the boy said it nearly had the man laughing. He stopped himself though, not wanting to deal with a psychotic killer who was already within arm's reach.

"Yeah, I think that's a fair assumption, and completely accurate." The Jounin crossed his arms and studied the redhead in front of him. "So anyway, why aren't you down joining in?" He was treated to a blank stare from the Jinchuruuki, who shrugged one shoulder slightly before responding.

"I already have one Kabuki actor in my life, in the form of my brother. I do not really desire to have a second one. Thus, I refuse to help paint Naruto-sama." The 'sama' reference made the older ninja blink several times. He opened his mouth to ask what had brought it on.

_**"AUGH! MY FACE!" **_The anguished cry from downstairs caused both shinobi to twitch slightly and look towards the room they were standing outside of. With simultaneous sighs, they nodded to each other and headed into the building, through the room and hallway, then down the stairs. When the duo reached the first floor, they saw Temari collapsed against the wall laughing, Haku leaning against the wall with tears streaming down her face, and Anko slumped in Ronnel's overstuffed chair, grasping her sides. Kankuro was holding on to the doorway to the kitchen as he laughed. Naruto was nowhere in sight.

A few minutes later, filled with the two somewhat calm ninja watching the slowly recovering pranksters, Naruto came back in through the kitchen door, shoving the puppeteer out of the way as he scrubbed at his face with a steel wool bundle. Ronnel and Gaara watched as the blonde Jinchuruuki brushed the metal mesh across his face with enough vigor to tear away the skin, sending rivulets of blood down his chin to the floor. This continued until his older brother grabbed his arm and tugged it away.

"This is your fault Aniki." The cerulean blue eyes were unhappy as the flesh under and around them knitted itself back together.

_**Despicable Author Style: Mini – Flashback!**_

_**Minutes before, when Naruto reached the Apartments.**_

The blue eyed Demon Container looked around the street one last time and sighed. Temari hadn't waited for him outside of the building, so he would have to pull her aside once he got in so that they could talk about their fledgling relationship. He tugged his hat off and ran his fingers through his hair, then plopped the bucket hat back down and opened the door.

Once his eyes adjusted to the lessened light of the interior, the shinobi saw the girl he was looking for standing in the middle of the room tapping her foot as she looked impatiently at him. With a few strides, he made it across the space between them and halted a half pace away from her.

"Sorry about that. Aniki needed to talk to me after I left Ibiki, and I didn't really have a choice in the matter." The kunoichi just glared at him, making the blonde boy fidget nervously as the seconds ticked past and she remained silent. Finally she spoke.

"I did try waiting for you, but it was getting muggy outside. So I came inside, and I ran in to Anko, who was bored at the time." Naruto gulped at that. He knew from personal experience that dealing with a bored Anko was a dangerous proposition for anyone who wasn't his older brother. He started to speak but the pigtailed girl held up a hand for silence. "I only got chased by the snakes for a short while. I came up with an idea that she liked, and preparing for it has occupied her until….. now." As she said the last words, a shiver went up the boy's spine. When she stopped speaking, he tried spinning around and running away, but it was too late. He felt ice wrap around his legs, and a boa constrictor pin his arms to his chest. The snake lifted him up into the air, and he became nauseous when he was flipped over so that he was completely upside down. His shirt and jacket fell over the snake's restrictive coils as his hat fell to the floor.

"Hello there Naru-chan!" Anko grinned evilly as the blonde boy was spun in place so that he was facing her and Haku, who was standing beside her. "Boy, do we have something nice for you today. Sandy, didja get it?"

"Sort of. Kankuro agreed to let us use them, but he wants to watch." Naruto began panicking as he kept spinning in a circle, once more facing Temari. He saw Kankuro come down the stairs, holding a thick wooden box with a simple clasp holding it shut. Another shiver traveled across his spine as his spin was arrested by Temari grasping his frozen legs and steadying him. Crimson streaked cerulean orbs followed the Sunagakure Gennin until he was out of sight behind him, standing near Anko and Haku. A grin split Temari's face as the box creaked open.

"Perfect! Sure kid, watch, just don't get involved. This is gonna be work for the ladies." The puppeteer stepped back into Naruto's line of sight and leaned against the wall, his smile evident. The blonde began squirming when Temari spun him around to face the other two girls, and he saw what they were holding. Make up, brushes, and sponges.

"No no non onononono!" The squirming became a frantic struggle to escape, but he was held fast by the snake and the ice. _Kyuubi-sensei, HELP ME PLEASE!_

_** I don't think so gaki. This promises to be entertaining.**_ The demon's amusement was evident in its mental tone. The Demon Container cursed his prisoner silently as the girls began removing various shades of makeup from the box. Anko pulled out a bright canary yellow, Temari got a deep maroon red, and Haku got an emerald green.

As the girls descended on the helpless boy, the victim had time to wonder why on earth Kankuro had these strange colors inside his makeup box. But then the brushes began tracing across his skin, and his only thought was on escaping from their grasp. Despite his best efforts, the combined strength of the boa constrictor and the Bloodline Limit created ice held him fast.

The boy felt the three kunoichi sweeping across his face with their brushes, and grimaced slightly at the feeling of rough liquid that was left behind. Suddenly the snake's tongue flickered across his face in front of his eyes, causing him to flinch and close them. As soon as he had, he felt one of the brushes dart across his eyes, staining them in a color he could only guess was as vivid as the others. He kept his eyes closed as the women colored across his face, putting a base of some color down before going after the whiskers. In time the brushes moved across his forehead, and he felt them catching the fringe of his hair as well, irritating him immensely. Eventually though, the feeling of bristles against his skin ceased.

When he opened his eyes, he saw Kankuro leaning against the doorway to the kitchen, laughing even harder than he had been before. Temari was nowhere in sight until he let his eyes drop to the floor, where she laid laughing. He felt the ice around his legs crack, then shatter apart as if suddenly gossamer fine. Because of that, when the constrictor around his chest and arms suddenly vanished, he was ready, and caught himself on one hand instead of crashing face first onto the floor. Naruto flipped to his feet and glared around at Haku who was leaning against the wall and Anko who had collapsed into his older brother's favorite chair. Suddenly he realized what being freed meant – they had succeeded in painting his face how they wanted!

In a rush now that he had figured that out, the blonde Jinchuruuki shoved past Kankuro, who grasped onto the doorjamb as he struggled to stop laughing. The Konoha shinobi headed to the sink, where a mirror rested on the wall above the faucet. He stared in shock for a moment.

The majority of his face had been painted over in a neon orange shade that nearly made him vomit. The rest was no better – each whisker had been painted in one of the three colors that the girls had originally pulled out – the blue, green, and red were visible on each side, set in no apparent sequence, giving his face a decidedly lopsided look. On his eyelids was a white shade that matched his corneas, making it seem that he had gone blind whenever he closed his eyes. Rimmed around his eyes was a deep purple shade, drawing attention to his eyes which were already attention grabbers. The final insult was his forehead and hair fringe – a lime green shade was there, a yellow green tone that made it seem as if he was slightly sick. The boy's mouth dropped open and closed, gaping like a fish for a moment.

_**"AUGH! MY FACE!"**_ His hand darted out and snatched up the steel pot scrubber that his brother used on tougher stains after cooking. The steel mesh scratched across his face, tearing the makeup away, as well as a fair portion of his flesh. Naruto scrubbed so fast at it that even his advanced regeneration couldn't keep up, and soon blood began dripping between his fingers to the ground. He spun around on his heel and stalked out of the kitchen. When he felt someone tug his arm away from his face, he looked up, expecting to see Anko there in front of him. Instead, it was his older brother. He glared at the older male unhappily for a moment before speaking.

"This is your fault Aniki."

_**Despicable Author Style: End Flashback!**_

The frustrated tone in his voice sent the Anko into laughter again, but the sight of his blood hitting the floor had frozen the younger kunoichi in place in shock. Unlike the older woman, they hadn't fully realized how Naruto would react to being turned into a parody of a geisha like that.

Ronnel dropped to one knee and studied his brother's face for a long moment, unspoken words passing between their expressions. Finally he stood up and rested a hand on his brother's blonde hair, some of which was still tinged green from the makeup. He spoke in a low tone, but made sure that it carried to the three girls.

"Sorry about that Otouto. To make up for it, I'm going to release all restrictions on your pranking until they have been repaid for that. Do what you think is appropriate." This time, it was Anko and Haku who froze solid, while Temari looked mildly confused. The Sunagakure kunoichi stood up and scooted over to Haku and leaned over her shoulder to whisper in the medic's ear.

"What on earth is he talking about?"

"Naruto-kun used to be infamous as a prankster. You remember the story that Nara-san mentioned once about how all of the deer of his family had somehow made it inside the clan compound one night when everyone was asleep? Or the one that Akamichi-san told us about how all of the salt and sugar in his family's containers had been switched daily for a week while no one could figure out how?" At Temari's confused nod, the dark haired Chuunin continued. "Those were Naruto's _mild_ pranks. I can only remember one, one prank that Naruto has done outside of Konoha. It's the reason that my father got into the habit of waxing his eyebrows so that it would never be repeated." She shivered.

"One night, while our two groups were together, Naruto somehow managed to sneak into Zabuza's tent, levered and balanced the Kubikiri Houcho over my father's face so that it just barely wasn't touching him, then used a seal that sent the temperature of the blade to well below freezing. The metal froze onto my father's eyebrows and sat there all night, until he woke up to see his own face in the blade in the morning. He sat up, sending the Kubikiri tumbling away. Well, his hair follicles weren't all that strong, and every hair that had frozen against the metal was torn out by the roots. It left him with a couple of patches of thin hair, but not a lot. The worst part is Temari-san….that was after Ronnel placed heavy restrictions on the pranking that Naruto-kun could do." The whole time that Haku had been speaking, Anko had been frozen in her seat. Suddenly she burst into motion, thrusting her hand to point at her boyfriend who was leaning back and watching his brother as Naruto plotted.

"_What the hell are you thinking? You can't unleash that on us!_" Ronnel turned a mild eye towards her, and the devious smile hidden within it let her know that this was just the opening salvo in a long list of payback for many of her torturous antics.

"Damn, she has a point Naruto. We need to wait until after the Chuunin Exams. I have one month to train you in for the Finals, and we can't take time off from that for plotting. Full restrictions will be released after that." Naruto frowned for a minute, then remembered something that he needed to mention to his brother.

"Fine, fine. Aniki, I forgot to tell you earlier – I may have gotten around my elemental fixation. I charged a gust of wind I sent at someone earlier with electric energy." The eyes of those who normally lived in the Apartments widened, well aware of the fact that Naruto had been thought incapable of ever using an element other than Fuuton. That his secondary was the element that was weak to his primary was even more astounding to them.

"Well hot damn Otouto! I can't train you in Raiton, but I know someone who can, and he wants to make up for his behavior before." The way his brother phrased that made Naruto tilt his head with suspicion. "But until he becomes available, we'll need to focus on other things."

Eager to distract the prankster king from thoughts of revenge, Anko immediately spoke up, revealing the surprise that her boyfriend had mentioned earlier. "And I have just the thing! All of you here are invited to a Karaoke night at the Jounin Bar. All of the local Chuunin Exam participants are welcome, and that extends to the three of you as well, considering what's going on with your village." Each of the Gennin reacted to that statement.

Temari shifted nervously at this revelation. She had no trouble singing normally, but in front of a crowd of her peers? She wasn't sure she could handle that as well as singing around her family only. Kankuro began sweating slightly at the words, wondering if he could have Karasu go up instead of himself. Gaara merely tilted his head to one side and glanced towards his 'brother' Jinchuruuki, who had reacted far differently than the Suna ninja.

Upon hearing that there would be a Karaoke event, Naruto's eyes immediately shifted from plotting to ecstatic. The blonde began bouncing on the heels of his feet as he turned towards his brother, an expectant look on his face. When his adoptive sibling nodded, the blonde grinned widely and nodded rapidly.

"Alright, so with you four added, we have thirteen Gennin showing up. Great! I'll go let the others know how many to set up to tort-er, how many will be in the contest." The purple haired snake summoner vanished in a swirl of leaves.

"…Contest?" Temari's voice was quiet and confused. She glanced towards Ronnel, who rubbed his forehead while muttering something under his breath.

"Too eager to get away from a near prank active Naruto… Ahem. Yes, what Anko-chan forgot to mention is that the Karaoke is actually a contest for originality, and how faithful to the song you can be. Top prize is an A-rank Ninjutsu of your elemental affinity. Second is a B-rank, third has a C-rank. Only you Gennin are eligible in the contest, but there will probably be a few Jounin and Chuunin who sing as well. Oh, and if you don't already know your elemental affinity, then you'll be tested and also learn that along with a prize if you win." The eyes of the two Wind users widened. Gaara merely sighed, convinced that on the off chance that he won, there was no way there would be a Sunaton scroll for him to learn from.

"Now then you lot, grab showers and meet me back down here inside twenty minutes or so. The event starts on the turn of the hour, and that doesn't leave you a lot of time to get ready." The Gennin shot up the stairs to their respective rooms to get ready for what promised to be an interesting night. After the last of them had gone up the stairs, the Jounin leaned against the wall and spoke softly to himself. "I hope she likes it…" He shook his head vigorously and turned to wait for them young ninja to return. Standing against the wall a short distance away, Haku wondered what he had been talking about, but realized that she would see what he meant later that night.

_A singing contest…this might give me a chance to pull that girl aside and ask her what the hell she was thinking kissing Naru-kun like that…_ The medic rubbed her hands together then formed ice senbon that she studied closely, pricking one against her finger to test their sharpness. She nodded then the needles melted away as she waited near Ronnel for the Gennin to return so they could leave as a group.

_**Despicable Author Style: Cliffhanger Technique!**_

_**-AN**_

_**Alright, sorry it's taken me so long to get this next chapter up everyone! I've been having some issues with my internet and laptop that seemed determined to make me lose the story totally. And I know I planned on having the Karaoke start in this chapter, but the face paint scene kinda grew into its own beast before I knew it. Hope ya'll enjoyed it, and the real reason why Zabuza is 'No-Brows'! –chuckles-**_

_**Anyway…Reader reviews. Been a while, but here I go!:**_

_**Umbra8191:**_

_Sorry for the delay, here's the next chapter._

_**Still Not Dead Yet:**_

_Probably, but for my version of the Naruto-verse the Bingo Book authors are an independent entity from the villages entirely. They operate by keeping track of famous or infamous shinobi and kunoichi, and print it out themselves. They make their money by taking a small percentage of the bounty. Oh, and yes, they are Kakazu's favorite people in the world. He gets advance copies of the Bingo Book before others, so he gets first crack at the bounties offered. Might not be true for the 'official' version, or other stories'._

_**SythAngelwing:**_

_Sirrah, I do not lie! –laughs-_

_Thankee, sorry it took so long for this chapter to come out. And the OC will show up in a few more chapters._

_**Geetac:**_

_Thanks, look forward to the next one after the time skip.'_

_**No – I'm not on Facebook:**_

_Like I told Syth, she'll show in a few chapters. And yes, she is an interesting person, and will cause a fun scene herself._

_**Dkh1212:**_

_There is going to be another B.B. chapter after the time skip just to reaffirm those things. And as for Miss Zenli, you'll have to wait and see._

_**Kiyomos:**_

_The new OC will be making her debut soon. But don't worry, Ron might mention more when he finally sees the Bingo Book._

_**Lostmyshoeinsheol:**_

_It's entirely possible that the hat was a fedora, but if it was, this is the new official version lol. And as for the bone clone – consider it just a skeleton. I mean, think about Kimimaro's ability. He created a freaking FOREST of bones! Creating a skeleton of himself and covering it in a henge wouldn't be too hard…_

_When more info on her is out you'll have to let me know if your idea was correct._

_**Firelordeg:**_

_Not a mistake, Ron acquiring the Kusanagi is just a rumor – until a confirmation comes, the info on Anko's chapter won't change beyond what it is now. As soon as it is confirmed by one of the Bingo Book info gatherers, her info will update to reflect that._

_**Too Lazy to Log In:**_

_Wait and see. And Naruto skimmed that part, though he'll bring it up when he shows the B.B. to Ron. And one person will have to fight twice during the Final Exams. The fox-hunt will begin with Temari soon, though the others will wait a little longer – not too much longer for Haku though. –prepares for pitchforks and torches-._

_**Warriorx559:**_

_Sorry you feel that way. But you have to remember, Naruto did spend approximately six years out and about with Ronnel before joining Konoha. He'd already gained himself a nickname during that time, so when more info on him was confirmed it would be added in. And unfortunately, Miss Zenli won't be added in for a few more chapters._

_**James Larthol:**_

_It's Yasukawa Zenli lol. Had to change the name to avoid two 'Ko-chan' people. As for Gaia, my internet and laptop have hated me for some time now. And I'll make note of that when she appears._

_**Marc;**_

_I'm trying, I'm trying lol._

_**Mizuumi Uchiha:**_

_Get stuck in a menial job that requires no brain power whatsoever. You end up with a lot of time to come up with ideas for stories. –shrugs- that's all I've got to offer._

_**DarkMegaSF:**_

_Huh? The psycho priest? And like I mentioned to Lost, this is the official hat – Bucket Hat like Uruhara Kisuke from Bleach, just different colors._

_**Mizuumi Uchiha:**_

_Young Kunoichi and Shinobi, yep yep. And…. I hadn't thought of that O.o. –ponders making a stalker for Naruto from the Bingo Book issue-_

_**Ey:**_

_I'm sorry…. But wth is a Wish Fulfillment tag supposed to mean? And I'm sorry you feel like you wasted your time._

_**Hanzo of the Salamander:**_

_Thankee. Have to say that a few ideas earlier on, and in the Finals, came from the fic 'Chuunin Exam Day' by Perfect Lionheart, but I do try my best to make it original in my own twisted manner._

_**Too Lazy To Log in Again:**_

_-pulls out water hose and lightning rod- back, back I say! Erm…. I've looked over my profile several times nad can't find what you're referring to. Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter uploaded. Next one will hopefully be up much, much faster. Oh, and you make three._

_**I do what I want:**_

_Glad to hear that. Trying to go easy on the fluff, since it would be way, way, waaaay to easy jjust to write a fluff fic…. I must have dozens of those running around in the dank dark recesses of my mind lol. And I'll do my best with the Harem, just gotta love the Kage Bunshin though. It'll make things a little easier to get the girls alone with 'Ruto._

_Again, sorry it took me swo long to update this. Normally the updates are every week-two weeks, barring issues like what came up with my internet and laptop hating me and my story. Hope you come back and read more, the story ain't through yet!_

_**Nayami-chan:**_

_*blinks, does a double take, then a triple take* O.O HEYLA! You came back! –clears throat- _

_Alright, to review respond.:_

_I'm glad to hear that. I know how that can be with some fics – they're really good, but you don't want to read fanfic at that time. No harm done._

_You didn't have to push yourself you know – the story isn't going anywhere you can't read it lol._

_Glad youy enjoyed the chapter._

_Sorry, but yes, in this fic at least, the Uchiha is a prick of the first degree. But at least there is someone he obeys – his God._

_-reads, rereads, rerereads massive message- That is the longest review I have ever gotten. Ever. And like I said earlier, no harm no foul. I knew that I had thrown a few people from my story with my unique aspects (still haven't figured out what the bloody 'ell 'Ey' meant by his/her review…) so I figured that was what had happened. And yes, I'll message you as soon as I finish responding here. –twitches at being poked- that's not very nice though. And yes, I do enjoy reading your reviews, you normally say a fair bit (not this much though!) so it's always a good thing. Hrm. Yes, I read this whole thing, and sent you a message, so stop feeling bad young lady! And stop worrying your cousin's ear off about me, the poor soul is probably sick of hearing about some random fanfic author lol. And it's 1:17 here, so I need to wrap up review responses, so I win! *sticks tongue out at you and crosses eyes*_

_Glad you liked the conversation between Kiba and Yugito, wasn't too sure I handled that part correctly. And the games and hug thing is one of those things that will become a reoccurring joke in this story. –sagely nod-. Which poll though?_

_Good to hear that._

_Hmm. Your vote makes it even, three for each. Damnation, this makes it a toss-up._

_Here's the next chapter, glad you enjoyed the Bingo Book info. Yes, there will be another after the time skip, or possibly sooner if enough people ask for an entry about someone in particular. I'm sorry this chapter took so long to upload, but I am striving to finish the next oen and get it up on the site as well._

_Is there an all of the above option? And you don't need to try making it interesting, just getting the review is satisfaction enough for me._

_**Alright, that's the end of the reviews! One last time, I'm sorry it has taken me so long to get this chapter uploaded. Though it makes me wonder what will happen when the story is done with… Anyway. As I said just above, the focus for my next two stories is now a toss up between NarutoxNier and HpxEd, versus NarutoxEd, HPxNier. So, put your vote in your reviews for this chapter, and the tally from this chapter alone will decide it! So come on ladies and gents, vote in for the story focus you'd rather see! **_

_**PS: I have the prologue of the first chapter of the Harry Potter fic mostly complete, I just need to know which book he'll find. Yes, the H.P. stories will have similar prologues, but the final protion will be the difference before the rest of the story. **_

_**Alright, vote for which story set you'd rather see!**_

_**Ja Ne!**_

_**Garran out!**_


	29. Chapter 28

_**Disclaimer – Don't Own Naruto, don't own Bring it on, or Ka-Ching,**_

_**Chapter 28 – Slow Times, Fun Times**_

_**Konoha Jounin Bar**_

Naruto tilted his head as he looked around the room that he and the other people from his apartment, minus Anko, were passing through. It was obviously the main bar area – against one wall was a low counter behind which resided many kinds of alcohol, as well as one of the largest men that the blonde Jinchuruuki had ever seen. Scattered throughout the room were tables that had hanging lights directly above them, with bulbs low enough that if you weren't nearly on the table you wouldn't be able to see who was there clearly. The low lighting combined with the smoky atmosphere from the Jounin who did smoke made it nigh impossible to see in the room, at least to see anything other than the entrance, the bathrooms, the bar, and the doorway which the blonde's group was being led towards.

They stepped out into the hallway, and Naruto and Gaara let out sighs of relief. When Temari turned an inquisitive eye towards her brother, he lifted one finger and tapped his nose.

"Without the mad priest hindering our connection, Mother has been able to provide me with the enhancements that she would have normally given me as her container when she was sealed into me. The tobacco smoke in that chamber was thoroughly repugnant to my enhanced senses, and I would surmise that the same is true for Naruto-sama as well." This was the first that Ronnel or Haku had heard about the mad priest being gone – for Haku, it was the first she had heard about him at all. The Jounin closed his eyes and studied the chakra paths that formed within Gaara, and saw that somehow, the second human chakra flow had been removed, allowing the other two to harmonize finally. He opened his eyes and put aside asking what had happened, though now he had a better idea as to why the redhead was calling his younger brother 'sama'. Instead, the older male turned the group to the right down the hall, leading the way to the room that had been set aside for the Karaoke contest.

Their group entered the room, and saw that most of the other Gennin were already there. Noticeably absent was the Uchiha Heir, despite the fact that Kakashi was in the room talking with Gai and a woman that the four Gennin didn't recognize. The Jounin and Gennin had separated into two groups, the older ninja taking the chance to catch up on each other's lives that they had missed out on because of their new responsibilities.

Naruto and the Sabaku Siblings moved over to where Hinata was sitting and talking with Shino. The two quiet ninja looked up, the bluennete smiling when she saw her closest friend nearing the table with the girl that she was plotting on getting him with.

"Hey guys!" Answering responses were shot back at the cheery blonde, who smiled at the rest of the Konoha ninja. "So, I know who's going to be singing the first song here, but does anyone know when it starts? Or what song they'll be singing?" Most of the Chuunin shook their heads, though Ino and Kiba did look slightly nervous. The blonde looked at the other two and grinned wider. He sidled over to them, with Temari not far behind him, and whispered conspiratorially to them.

"Let me guess. You two do know what you want to sing, but you haven't signed up to do it yet right?" Several people heard Naruto's 'quiet' whisper and looked away with minor blushes. "Well don't worry about it! Come on over with me, once I figure out where…" The blonde haired Jinchuruuki spotted his brother striding to a small table at the back where Ibiki was sitting looking incredibly out of place with his serious expression amidst the levity that permeated the air. The younger boy watched as the two men spoke for a second, and once more a grin split his cheeks when Ibiki nodded and Ronnel smiled triumphantly. The newer Jounin picked up a pencil and a slip of paper from in front of the Torture and Interrogation chief and hastily scribbled something onto it before handing it to the man. Ibiki scanned it and nodded again, though he paused as if considering the song.

Naruto immediately led the group of Gennin towards Ibiki's table, where he soon led the way in writing down a song title and handing it to the older man. Ronnel peered over his brother's shoulder, having noticed the blonde boy approaching. When he saw what song his adopted sibling was planning on singing, he laid one hand on the blonde's shoulder.

"Don't worry Otouto. There is. If I can find someone, then there is no doubt in my mind that you will too." Cerulean eyes turned to dark green, concern evident. "You will. Relax, you never know…she might be following you around right now." Naruto jumped as if stung and spun around. Standing near him, though obviously not paying attention to what was being said as she considered what song she wanted to sing, was Temari. While normally he would have blown off his brother's comment as a simple case of coincidental timing, what had happened back in the Stadium stands made him think about it as more than just happenstance.

The soon-to-be-former Suna kunoichi felt eyes upon her and turned her own eyes upwards only to be caught in an intense gaze from the person whom she was developing deeper feelings for daily. She blushed slightly, then came up with a song that she hoped would get how she felt about him across.

It was a few minutes later that Ibiki stood up and moved to the stage, and cleared it by glaring at the shinobi and kunoichi who were gathered there for space, talking. His dark gaze sent Gennin and Jounin alike scurrying away. Satisfied, the man cleared his throat and stepped up to the microphone. He flicked the switch on the side then picked the object up, clearing his throat before bringing it to his face.

"Alright, this is our last test to see if this thing works right before we get this event started. Can everyone in the back here me?" When a thumbs-up came from Ebisu, who was standing near the rear wall, Ibiki nodded. "Good. Now then, this is something that goes on every so often here for the Jounin. Which means that Gennin, don't get used to it. You'll have to do something pretty impressive to get your sensei to bring you here to one of these. Oh, and except for a few special circumstances, such as incredibly long times spent as one, Chuunin don't come here. Oh, they might have come if they impressed their sensei way back when, but under most conditions, you either have to be a Jounin or the Gennin team of a Jounin-sensei to get in to this event. For those Gennin who are here and don't know what this, which I severely doubt since you all chatter worse than civilian women, this is a Karaoke party." The man looked up, and the smile that spread across his face seemed to soften it somehow.

"Now, is everyone ready for this thing to get started?" A loud chorus of shouts answered the Interrogator. He shuddered when the most distinct response was two cries of "FOR THE FIRES OF YOUTH™" apparently Gai matched his student in vocality. "Enough you two. Since you all are so apparently ready, we have someone who volunteered to be ridicu-first." Most of the audience laughed at Ibiki's intentional slip, though it did make several of the Gennin nervous. "Get your ass up here Rei-Uzumaki Ronnel, and belt out the tune!" The proctor-turned announcer body flickered back to his table near the stand and grinned evilly as Ronnel made his way through the crowd, ignoring the catcalls that he had come to know.

When he made it to the stage at the front, the title of the song he was going to sing and the author appeared on the wall in front of him. In a display of either confidence or bravado, he turned around on his heel and faced out to the audience, his forest-hued orbs searching for someone. When he spotted Anko watching him from near Kurenai and Asuma, he smiled at her then nodded to Ibiki.

**Bring it On: Trace Adkins**

_Troubled soul all alone, _

_I can feel your sadness._

_The heartache and the madness_

_Are hitting hard tonight._

As Ronnel's surprisingly smooth and light baritone rolled out the first lines of the song in perfect time with the highlighting on the screen now behind him and out of his sight, it became apparent that his turning around was confidence in the fact that he knew the song well. Though while everyone else in the audience was watching him sing, or watching the words behind him, flashing through two minds were images that the song evoked.

_You're cornered up and hunkered down,_

_The walls are tall around you._

_For anyone one to break through,_

_It's gonna be a fight._

Both of them, Ronnel and Anko, remembered the first time that they had slept in the same bed together, only days ago. They saw again Anko falling asleep in his arms after crying out her fear that Orochimaru would kill him.

_**Chorus**_

_Bring it on, _

_Bring it on._

_All your heartache and frustration._

_You've been done wrong too long,_

_And I'm strong enough to change it._

_Maybe in time, _

_We'll turn water into wine,_

_Maybe love is what we'll find,_

_Bring it on._

_**End Chorus**_

Throughout the chorus, a scene replayed through both people's minds, though the scenes were different. In Ronnel's eyes again flashed the look of hatred and traces of fear mixed together that the Snake Sannin had shot at him as he fled. For Anko, it was coming home and finding her treacherous sensei's sword laying on the table beside Ronnel, with him looking unhurt though slightly exhausted.

_It's not too late to fly away,_

_And I won't try to stop you._

_So you do what you've got to, I'll understand._

Anko's eyes traveled up out of memories to stare at her boyfriend, and found him staring straight back. She shook her head enough for him to see, sign enough for the man that he would never have to worry about her leaving. A smile danced around his eyes as he sang the next lines while holding out his hand towards her.

_But if you need a place to land, _

_A haven safe and certain, _

_Someone to share your burden,_

_Then take my hand, and _

_**Chorus**_

_Bring it on,_

_Bring it on,_

_All your heartache and frustration._

_You've been done wrong too long, _

_And I'm man enough to change it._

_Maybe in time, we'll turn water into wine,_

_Maybe love is what we'll fiiiiind,_

_Bring it on._

This time, something different happened. Anko immediately looked back to Ibiki, who was resting one hand on top of Kakashi's, who had his visible eye closed as he pressed his one hand to his forehead and his other onto the projector. The words on the screen faded, to be replaced by Kakashi's memory from the end of the fight against Orochimaru. Ronnel, with his back to the screen, was unaware of what everyone in the audience was seeing as Kakashi's viewpoint jumped further away as the Snake Sannin rushed at he and Ronnel. The audience watched stunned as Ronnel somehow evaded the blow while injuring the traitor.

_**End Chorus**_

_Bring it on, bring it on,_

_All your anger and frustration, _

_You've been done wrong too long,_

_And I'm MAN enough to change it._

_Maybe in time, we'll turn water into wine,_

_Maybe love is what we'll find,_

_Bring it on._

Kakashi removed his hand from the projector, drained from using the fuinjutsu seals to convert his memories into images to be played on the screen. The normal text resumed playing on the screen behind the Jounin on the stage, along with a small memo that the song was almost over floating near the top left corner. Anko was staring at her boyfriend with wide eyes – it was one thing to hear about something like that, an entirely different matter though to see it directly from memories of a witness. She stood up and began shoving her way through the crowd, though many got out of her way once they saw who it was trying to get to the front of the room.

_Yeah bring it on baby._

_Baby bring it on._

_Bring it on._

_Yeah bring it on._

_Bring it on baby!_

**End Song**

Ronnel finished the last line of the song and opened his eyes again, in time to see a familiar purple streak shooting from the ground straight at him. Bracing himself slightly, he caught his girlfriend, who seemed incredibly happy. The man grinned slightly, then nodded to Ibiki as he set the microphone back onto its stand, while maneuvering around Anko who refused to move from her spot of cleaning to his chest.

After letting the couple get back to their seats - well, rather, Ronnel's seat – Ibiki moved back to the stage and grinned evilly.

"Good. For our next performance is…" His eyes cut across the crowd, finally settling on one of the unique hair colors. After flicking downwards briefly to confirm who it was that he was looking at, he nodded. "Yamanaka Ino. Get up here already." The girl squeaked in fright but began scurrying up to the stage to take the microphone.

Ibiki made his way to the wall where his table with the projector and song box were, and found three people waiting for him. He looked from the two Gennin to the Jounin standing with them and sighed heavily. He had a feeling he knew what this was about.

"These two want to try doing the same thing that Kakashi did." Asuma spoke up first, relieving Chouji who was afraid the task would fall to him.

"Sorry, can't do that. The seal draws images from your mind, and chakra to convert those images to something that can be projected. You might be able to provide a single instant scene, but not a memory clip like Hatake did." The larger Gennin seemed to wilt in on himself, though the spiky haired boy rolled his eyes and muttered something under his breath before raising his voice.

"Relax Chouji. I know what song Ino would pick to sing to, and we won't need clips, images from a single moment will do just fine. Mendokousai, I was hoping you'd say you had to be a Jounin to use the seal at all." The lazy genius rubbed his forehead aggravatedly. By this point, Ibiki had maneuvered between them and gotten the song that Ino had chosen ready to play. He lifted one hand up in signal to her that he was starting the music.

**Ka-Ching by Shania Twain**

_We live in a greedy little world-  
that teaches every little boy and girl  
To earn as much as they can possibly-  
then turn around and  
Spend it foolishly_

Ino, having seen what happened to Ronnel, turned around just in time to see the lyrics flashing across as she sang in time with them. She passed it off as spinning in place while one hand snaked down to her false wallet, where she kept most of her small change._  
We've created us a credit card mess  
We spend the money that we don't possess  
Our religion is to go and blow it all  
So it's shoppin' every Sunday at the mall  
_ As the blonde girl kept spinning in place, her hand dropped the loose change to the floor She finally stopped, facing the audience, and missed when the screen behind her immediately changed to show the girl carrying two bags, while her teammates were both loaded down like pack animals with boxes and bags of various shapes and sizes._  
All we ever want is more  
A lot more than we had before  
So take me to the nearest store_

The next image that flashed behind the girl was implied by the words of the song – it showed the blonde dragging Chouji behind her in a foreign town, heading to a fashion boutique. The perspective of the image came from right beside the girl, so she was also dragging Shikamaru.__

_**Chorus**__  
Can you hear it ring  
It makes you wanna sing  
It's such a beautiful thing-Ka-ching!  
Lots of diamond rings  
The happiness it brings  
You'll live like a king  
With lots of money and things  
__**End Chorus**_

This time the image was a small clip – at the projector, Asuma had taken over providing the images in order to let his students recover. On the stage, Ino turned around in time to see herself as she had been coming back from a mission – she was dressed head to toe in expensive looking clothes that were sold for exorbitant prices in the northern part of the Land of Birds. She flushed as the memory image of herself was shown looking at the receipts for her clothes and cringing.

_When you're broke go and get a loan  
Take out another mortgage on your home  
Consolidate so you can afford  
To go and spend some more when  
you get bored  
_

The glare from Ino prevented Chouji from showing another image as she sang. That didn't prevent the people in the audience from remembering a time when Ino had received her payment for a mission – she had immediately blew it all on a new scarf from the local clothing shops. She had then had to play pretty to get money from her father for another set of weapons when her old set became unusuable._  
All we ever want is more  
A lot more than we had before  
So take me to the nearest store_

_**Chorus**__  
Can you hear it ring  
It makes you wanna sing  
It's such a beautiful thing-Ka-ching!  
Lots of diamond rings  
The happiness it brings  
You'll live like a king  
With lots of money and things  
__**End Chorus**__  
_

As she sang the chorus again, Ino pulled a small coin from her pocket, and mimed glaring at it before reaching much, much farther down._  
Let's swing  
Dig deeper in your pocket  
Oh, yeah, ha  
Come on I know you've got it  
Dig deeper in your wallet  
Oh  
_

Naruto rolled his eyes as she sang. He knew why Ino had picked this song – she was definitely the biggest spender in Konoha. At the side from where the projector was, Shikamaru finally walked away, too lazy to continue providing images for the slideshow. Chouji looked almost ready to follow him, but stayed long enough to show one more image from his memory – Shikamaru standing with his arms outstretched as Ino held a shirt up in front of him as if testing how it looked (which she was)._  
All we ever want is more  
A lot more than we had before  
So take me to the nearest store_

_**Chorus**__  
Can you hear it ring  
It makes you wanna sing  
It's such a beautiful thing-Ka-ching!  
Lots of diamond rings  
The happiness it brings  
You'll live like a king  
With lots of money and things  
__**End Chorus**__  
_

Ino was panting and wearing down. She was no longer swaying in place as she sang, and her unused arm was hanging down by her side. Several of the Jounin grunted at this display of lack of stamina on the girl's part, and Kurenai was shooting daggers at Asuma, who flinched under her glare. The man took over for his student, showing a clip of Ino putting money on the counter beside a mountain of clothing._  
Can you hear it ring  
It makes you wanna sing  
You'll live like a king  
With lots of money and things  
Ka-ching!_

As the song ended, Ino was barely able to bring her arm up enough to place the microphone on its stand. She staggered back to her teammates, who helped her over to a chair as Ibiki strode back up towards the stage.

"Alright, that was a revealing show, thank you young lady. Now, we'll have a small intermission as we get set for the next song. And don't anyone bother volunteering, we have the next two songs already chosen." The man set the microphone back down and moved over to the side of the stage, where he pulled on a cord and caused a curtain to drop down over the outer edge of the platform.

The low murmur of voices rose again as minor sounds came from the stage. Temari took her chance and grabbed Naruto's arm and dragged him out to the hallway. The two waited for a small group of obviously drunken Jounin stumbled past them into the Karaoke room, then looked at each other in silence for a moment.

"Alright….Naruto, please tell me what you were meaning before." The slightly hopeful expression on the blonde girl's face sent a warm shiver through the boy. He rubbed the back of his head and looked around, making sure that they were alone in the hallway. Finally he looked back at her and tilted his head. Instead of answering her directly, he switched topics for a second.

"I never did tell you what it was that I was laughing at did I?" Temari thought for a moment before remembering and shaking her head. "I was laughing at the thought that that moron could kill you. It's utterly ridiculous." The amusement that had returned to his eyes vanished as he gazed at her with an intent expression. "If Sasuke had tried to kill you, I would have obliterated him. That is, if you didn't wipe the floor with him before I got there. And as to what I was saying after that… I meant exactly what I said. The type of girls I might have feelings for are limited, extremely limited. For one, there's you. Your brother is a Jinchuruuki, so you've seen close up what our lives are like. Then there are those who have suffered incredible loss. Or another Jinchuruuki." He brought one hand up and caressed the side of her face.

"In case you missed that, I said that I care about you Temari." The girl's cheeks turned fiery red. "What you want to do now, is up to you." He stepped past her and paused at the doorway. "No matter what else happens, I'll probably always care about you Temari-chan." Naruto ducked back into the room in time to catch sight of Ibiki, Iruka, and the purple haired woman that Gai had been talking with earlier leaving the stage. He headed over to where Ronnel and Anko were sitting and leaned over to whisper to them. "What did I miss?"

"Where did-never mind, I don't want to know. And you didn't miss a lot, just those three doing a good job of singing _I Gotta Feeling_ by some band that I didn't catch the name of." His brother was the one who answered him. The loyal Snake Summoner had her head buried in the crook of Ronnel's neck and seemed intent on not moving at all from her spot.

In the hallway, Temari was leaning against the wall thinking about what she could do. She liked the blonde Jinchuruuki, and from his own admission knew that he liked her. What her next step would be though was the puzzle she was faced with. Suddenly she realized what Naruto had been implying, and thinking about her brother's life, she knew what he meant truly.

_He won't make the first move, I have to!_ She turned towards the door to head back in to the stage room when ice flowed around her ankles and froze her in her spot.

"We need to talk Sabaku-chan." Haku's voice was colder than her ice around Temari's legs. The two vanished in a swirl of ice, leaving no trace behind except for the two icy patches on the floor. By the time the next person walked through the hallway, even those traces were gone.

Back in the Karaoke room, Asuma had gone up to the stage and grabbed up the microphone, sending a wink to Kurenai as the music started for his song. The woman rolled her eyes and dropped her chin into one hand as she rested her arm on the table. Ronnel and Anko chuckled at the reaction that the red eyed woman gave when her boyfriend began strutting across the stage with the microphone in his hand. The male Jounin looked around and saw his younger brother looking nervously towards the door. He closed his eyes and sighed.

_You'd better not damage the feelings you've been given Temari. It would destroy him if you did._

_**Kit, relax. She's not going to turn her back on you. Remember, it was she who made the first move on you…well, rather, the first move that she's aware of. You still haven't told her that you saw **_every_** inch of her-**_

_SHUT UP KYUU!_

_**Uh, Kit, you realize that there isn't any way that she could hear me?**_ Naruto choked on his spit as he caught that thought. He nearly slammed one palm to his face before sending a mental glare at his tenant. _She might not but I can!_

_**Oh don't try acting like you haven't thought about that glimpse of bare flesh Kit. I –am- inside your head after all. And I must say, that bathroom scene you came up with was rather inventive. But you'll have to-**_ This time, the blonde slammed the mental connection with the demon sealed inside him closed. His brother, who was still watching him, caught the faint blush that had risen then been ruthlessly squashed.

"What's caught your interest Ron-kun?" The man's green eyes turned down to gaze aat the woman curled in his lap.

"Nothing much. Just think that Naruto's over there getting himself psyched up for his first girlfriend with plenty of naughty thoughts." Ronnel could swear that fox ears appeared on top of Anko's head for a moment as she shot up on her perch to stare over his shoulder at the young boy. After a moment she curled back down to rest her head on his shoulder again. "Though I'm wondering where she is…"

"That might be easier to answer than you think." The purple haired Snake Mistress grinned up at her boyfriend as he sent her a confused look.

_**Hokage Monument**_

Temari staggered away from Haku's hand, ice still clinging to her legs and her shoulder where the medic ninja had her hand placed. She sent a glare at the other woman who merely crossed her arms and matched the dark look with a steady gaze.

"Alright, what the hell do you want?" The Sand born girl shivered when the surrounding temperature dropped several degrees and a thick icy shroud began filling the air. She began regretting leaving her fan at home when Haku's right arm came up and ice senbon formed between her fingers.

"What are you plotting against Naruto-kun." The question was delivered as a statement, as if Haku was already certain that Temari was planning something malicious for the Jinchuruuki. The blonde fan wielder narrowed her eyes, the fear evaporating from her body as she realized what the other girl was implying.

"I'm not _plotting_ anything! Hell, if it wasn't for you grabbing me just now, I'd be in the Karaoke room with Nar-kun right now, asking him to be my boyfriend." The set of needles flying at her told Temari that that was apparently the absolute worst thing she could have said. The blonde rolled to the side, the ice shards flying over her head, then came to her feet while flashing through a small chain of hand seals. When the next set of ice senbon shot forward, Temari brought her right hand up. "_Fuuton: Bouseki Tate no Kaze!_" She focused her chakra into wind then immediately began spinning it in front of her upraised palm. The spinning mass of air became visible just before Haku's senbon hit it. The wind shield scattered the ice slivers, making its creator grin in triumph.

The grin vanished when the medic kunoichi dashed towards her, ice reforming around her left arm into a wickedly sharp blade. The Suna born girl bent backwards, the ice sword sweeping in the air where her head had been not moments before, then sent her body into an awkward roll to the side to avoid the strike downwards that Haku launched.

_Shukaku's balls! This crazy bitch is trying to kill me!_ "What the hell is your problem Ice Queen?" Temari thrust her hand upwards, catching the irate ice wielder off guard with a rough ball of wind that sent her reeling sideways several paces. Taking advantage of the precious seconds that the raw wind chakra had bought her, Temari ran through another chain of seals then slammed her hand to the ground. The medic watched as wind sprang up around her opponent, blocking her from sight.

"There, now you can't do anything, and I can't go anywhere. Will you calm the fuck down and tell me what the hell set you off?" Anger ebbed from Haku's expression as she recovered the fury that hearing what Temari had been planning faded. She rubbed her face and sent a glare at the wind obscured girl.

"Naruto-kun has been through too damn much to have some girl who is just going to leave him come along and play with his feelings. I want you to leave him alone and go back home to Sand." She blinked when the miniature tornado around Temari vanished to show the girl staring at her with somber eyes.

"That's what you think I'm going to do? String him along until I go to Sunagakure?" Haku nodded. "You've been a bit out of the loop haven't you… Sand is no longer the home of me and my brothers. Our father sent us on a suicide mission, one too many, as this one would have triggered a war. No, our sensei betrayed the Kazekage for us, so we could live here, where we are happy." The blonde ran a finger through her hair, wincing as she found a senbon that she hadn't dodged completely. She plucked it out before continuing.

"And in any case, I couldn't do something like that to Naruto. He…. You know what he is, right?" Another nod. "My brother, the young redhead, is the same, though for a lessor Bijuu than Naruto's. I have seen the shit that Jinchuruuki deal with, and in fact, I have seen worse than what Naruto has had to deal with. My brother, until very recently, had no one who cared about him. The one man he trusted, betrayed him and tried to kill him. That hasn't happened to Naruto-kun, and I know that no one will betray him. If they did, his older brother would hunt them down and kill them in some horribly inventive way. He might even have Anko help." That made the medic shiver, before tensing up to speak. Temari held up her hand, indicating she wasn't finished.

"One final reason I couldn't do that to Naruto. I… I think I love him." She blushed and looked away. Suddenly her eyes snapped back to the other girl. "And from this whole, come from no where killing vengeance shtick you just pulled, I think that you do too, don't you?" Now it was Haku who blushed. The two girls stood there for a long moment, each staring at the other in silence. Eventually, the ice wielder nodded.

"Fine. He… I know something about him that'll make a difference in time. And you..you are the first person he's shown interest in…so….I'll..I'll give you time."

"What?"

"It was explained to me that because of the Bijuu's influence, Naruto will never be able to love only a single woman. The amount of love that he needed to hold back the unthinking rage back before the Kyuubi was brought back to its normal state is just too much to be focused on one person. So…. I'm going to give you time to try to make sure that you are his Alpha. But know this Sand girl, I won't be leaving well enough alone for very long. If you don't cement being his Alpha, when I make my move for a spot in his heart, I will do everything I can to make sure that _I_ am." That said, she grabbed the other girl and shunsin'd them back to the bar. Haku nodded to Temari one last time, then strode away towards the front exit, leaving Temari along in the corridor.

_The hell? I don't know for sure if I love the guy.. I mean, I think I do, and this feels way stronger than any crush…but having to share him? I don't….. That's not the point. I don't really have a choice – Ice Bitch seemed pretty damn certain about that, and that she would be able to make him love her more._ Temari clenched her fist. _No way am I going to lose to her! He loves me now, and no way am I going to waste my time waiting for her to make her move!_ She turned and pushed into the room, only to see Naruto walking up to the stage and taking the microphone from Ibiki.

"Alright Konoha, it's your prodigal son here, singing out the next song." His eyes were downcast despite the small roll of laughter that his words generated.

**Gotta Be Somebody by Nickleback**_  
This time, I wonder what it feels like  
To find the one in this life, the one we all dream of  
But dreams just aren't enough_

The blonde boy's gaze remained locked on the floor. For this song, there was no one who could think of images from his life that would go with it, and so the screen behind him stayed showing the lyrics that he was singing. His tenor voice was constricted with emotions as he sang._  
_

_So I'll be waiting for the real thing, I'll know it by the feeling  
The moment when we're meeting, will play out like a scene  
Straight off the silver screen  
So I'll be holding my breath, right up 'til the end  
Until that moment when, I find the one that I'll spend forever with_

Temari's hand clenched as she realized how Naruto had felt when she didn't come in after him. Unknown to her, the Jinchuruuki had checked out in the hall to see if she was there, and had seen that she had vanished. That had hurt the young teen, and the pain showed through as he kept singing.__

Cause nobody wants to be the last one there  
Cause everyone wants to feel like someone cares  
Someone to love with my life in their hands  
There's gotta be somebody for me like that

"I'm here… I'm that somebody Naruto…"The Sunagakure born kunoichi whispered softly, looking up towards him, trying to catch his gaze when he looked up. But the blonde remained looking at the ground, and missed the tear filled eyes that were locked on him._  
Cause nobody wants to go it on their own  
And everyone wants to know they're not alone  
There's somebody else that feels the same somewhere  
There's gotta be somebody for me out there_

She couldn't take listening to him sound so sad any more. The pigtailed blonde began shoving her way through the crowd of people towards the stage, glaring claymores at anyone who got upset with her doing that._  
Tonight, out on the street, out in the moonlight  
And dammit this feels too right, it's just like déja vu  
Me standing here with you  
So I'll be holding my breath, could this be the end?  
Is it that moment when, I find the one that I'll spend forever with  
_On the stage, Naruto's thoughts were filled with images of his blonde guest. He had finally figured out, much to Kyuubi's amusement, that he had begun falling for the other blonde when he had first met her. His fall had become more and more certain with every time the two of them had touched, and when she kissed him after her fight against Sasuke, he knew that he was well and truly in love with her. That she had apparently run away had torn a hole in the boy's heart, and had silenced Kyuubi, seeming like a direct insult to the demon because he had been the one assuring his container that she wouldn't do just that._  
Cause nobody wants to be the last one there  
Cause everyone wants to feel like someone cares  
Someone to love with my life in their hands  
There's gotta be somebody for me like that  
Cause nobody wants to go it on their own  
And everyone wants to know they're not alone  
There's somebody else that feels the same somewhere  
There's gotta be somebody for me out there  
_Temari finally shoved through the last of the people separating her from the stage. The girl knew what she had to do to get past the boy's bleak mood, she just hoped that Ronnel and Anko didn't torment her for what she was about to do._  
You can't give up, (when you're looking for) a diamond in the rough (cause you never know)  
When it shows up, (make sure you're holding on)  
Cause it could be the one, the one you're waiting on  
Cause nobody wants to be the last one there  
And everyone wants to feel like someone cares  
Someone to love with my life in their hands  
There's gotta be somebody for me, oh_

The first clue that Naruto had that anything was different was when he felt someone standing in front of him on the stage. He looked up slowly, not believing what his eyes were telling him. Temari had jumped up on to the stage, her eyes glistening with tears as she lifted her arms up around him and grasped his shirt tightly._  
Nobody wants to go it on their own  
And everyone wants to know they're not alone  
There's somebody else that feels the same somewhere  
There's gotta be somebody for me out there  
Nobody wants to be the last one there  
Cause everyone wants to feel like someone cares  
There's somebody else that feels the same somewhere  
There's gotta be somebody for me out there_

As the final words of the song drifted away, the kunoichi dragged the Jinchuruuki to her and pressed her lips against his, trying to pour all of her feelings out in that one moment. When she eventually had to let him go so that they could breathe, she rested her head against his shoulder, her face pressing against his neck.

"I love you Naruto. If you'll have me…I'm that somebody."

_**Despicable Author Style: Cliffhanger Technique!**_

_**AN: Alright, first off, sorry for the massive delay on this one. I was hoping to get some requests for songs, but it seems that Author alerts don't work how I thought they did lol. Ah well. Next chapter…probably won't be karaoke considering how much trouble I ended up having with writer's block here. Still don't feel comfortable with the minor clash between Temari and Haku, but I rewrote that scene six times already so… -shrugs- Feel free to flame on that. Anyway, review responses, then I'll have this posted.**_

**Someone179:**

_-I- flinched when writing it actually. And I hope this update came in time to keep your interest._

**Dragon and Sword Master:**

_-laughs- This just goes to show that even with a lot more skill, and experience, the old, rash Naruto is still around. And yes, feel sorry for them. I may not fully describe the pranks, but rest assured that I will at least put their results in the story. And for now, it's just those three, and Kankuro for letting them use his kit._

**Still Not Dead Yet:**

_What would Gaara be though? The straight guy? (Side note, in comedy the straight man/guy is the dour serious person who jokes are bounced off of for comedic effect.)_

_And like I said in DASM's review response, this is unthinking Naruto at his finest. He just reached out and grabbed the closest thing, and didn't even stop to consider: "Hmm. This is steel wool. It will hurt like a bIT$%."_

_Naruko. Hmm, the beginning of the Alter. Not sure if she'll make an appearance in the next chapter (which will have Karaoke if people send in suggestions) but, she might later on as part of a prank, because remember, while Haku might know her, Anko and Temari don't. –evil grin- _

_Gaara's affinity. Hm. Yes, I believe it is, though I've seen him given all sorts of affinities. One of my favorites though is in Perfect Lionheart's story, where he takes perverse pleasure in using water jutsu against people who try soaking his sand and rendering it unusable. Though me, I'll probably take my own view on Gaara and his elemental affinity. Who knows….. Gaara the Mokuton user might make an appearance here. –shrugs-_

**Zekuran:**

_Thankee sirrah/madame. That is actually the translation I've decided to use._

**Too Lazy To Log in Again:**

_Ah, yaru. Yes, it does have another meaning, because I didn't know about those two. No, in this story, and in my translation dictionary, Yaru means bastard. So when someone is called a yaru, they're being called an illegitimate child. Or rather, being insulted._

**James Larthol:**

_Character development is good for the soul. And who knows, she might become Chinese. And despite the bit of action in this chapter, you probably won't like the next few, as they will not be combat oriented. Sorry my friend._

**Melkor4:**

_Yes, my skill with the Despicable Author style is indeed strong. _

_No. Haku is a she. I am of the school of thought that the whole 'I'm a guy' thing was to protect her while she and No-Brows traveled._

_Hinata, Hinata, Hinata. In this fic, she is seen by our favorite blonde to be a younger sister. But if you want some action focused on Naru/Hina, just wait until my next Naruto fic starts coming out. It won't be a harem fic like this is, but it will be Naru/Hina._

**No I'm Not On Facebook:**

_Here's the next one, hope you enjoy it too!_

**Geetac:**

_Hope you enjoyed this one as well._

**Sythangelwing:**

_Alright. 1, she'll make an appearance later on. 2. Interesting is one way to describe it. 3. Not getting in to that one again. 4. It's not only that, writer's block screws me over – I'll be able to write nearly the whole chapter, then get stuck on a crucial spot, or end up having to rewrite a scene over and over and over and over…. Ugh. I try though._

**Umbra8191:**

_Hope it was worth the wait._

**Hanzo of the Salamander:**

_Hope you like this one as much as the last._

**Warriorx559:**

_Ah Jiraiya. That one is…you'll have to wait and see for that bit. And I don't think the Karaoke went as well as I hoped._

**Lostmyshoeinsheol:**

_Doubt this one is on such an important day lol. _

_Yes, the Kohai does bring up issues, but the Rei-Uzumakis will handle them fine. _

_The return prank may or may not involve butter and live mice. I am not at liberty to say. –looks around nervously-_

_And score one for random fanfic authors, we rock! But here's another reason that someone else pointed out – if I got axed, who would write this story?_

**Nayami-chan:**

_Naya, please stop poking me. I tickle/poke back. –cracks fingers menacingly- And yes, I did get a long review lol. You stole my cat dude? Lol. As for the sponge/wool… Naruto fails to think actions through, even with more training. And…what on earth are you talking about there at the end?_

**Dkh1212:**

_Gotta have the slow with the fast. –sagely nod- _

**Someone179:**

_Glad you like Ron so much. No, he's not a druggie lol. Sand's solution was one I've seen, but not often is it Baki who gives it up to save the kids. My cliffhangers are the bane of readers everywhere._

_**That's it, that's all! Hope you all enjoy this chapter! **_

_**Ja Ne!  
-G.T. out!-**_

_**PS: Go read my other new fic guys and girls, and tell meh what ya think!**_


	30. Chapter 29

_**Disclaimer: Getting this out of the way. Again. I don't own Naruto, or anything else that shows up in here. I'm a lowly little college freshman. If you sue me, you won't get jack diddly.**_

_**Chapter Twenty Nine: Training for the Exams! (Love is in the Air!)**_

_**Konoha Apartments, Basement:**_

Naruto dropped to the floor, his forearms and hands aching from the constant exertion they had been put through recently. His cerulean orbs flitted to his brother, who was leaning against one of the walls with his arms crossed over his chest, an implacable expression etched into his features.

"Again Naruto. You need a varied selection of abilities, and if they have any skill in espionage, the members of other villages now know you have Fuuton. If they're working off of old reports, they'll fall into thinking that you can't use any other element." The Jinchuruuki groaned as his brother admonished him to keep practicing. He brought his gaze back to his hands as he went through the seals that his brother had gotten a hold of for him.

"_Raiton: Muchi no Erekutoron!_" From the tips of two fingers sprang a flexible beam of white light that stretched nearly two feet. The young teen twitched his hand slightly, causing the crackling beam to twist around and cut through the ground, then lash around. A spark leapt from the electric whip, scorching Naruto's hand and causing him to lose his tight concentration over the technique. The jutsu burst apart in a shower of bright light that burnt away the hair on the boy's arm.

"Aniki! I did it!" The blonde haired teen bounced around excitedly. He quickly calmed down and looked at Ronnel, who was fighting to keep a straight face after seeing that. The older shinobi stood up and walked over to his adopted sibling and nodded.

"Good. That's five secure techniques of the Raiton element. Add in your Fuuton, Kenjutsu, fuuinjutsu, and the fact that you're a Jinchuruuki, you should have no problem at all in this thing."

"Uhm, Aniki, are you forgetting the fact that there are two other Demon Containers in this contest?" There was a moment of silence as Ronnel processed this then dropped his face into his palm and groaned.

"Knew I was missing something…. Dammit…" The man began rummaging in the pouches hanging on his belt, searching for something. After a moment of searching, he grunted and shook his head. "Well, I screwed up. I've got a seal for you to learn to recreate, but I have to find where I left the thing. You get a break for now bro." Ronnel grumbled under his breath as he trudged up the stairs, presumably to find whatever seal it was that he was talking about. His brother stared after him, then frowned in thought.

_What on earth is he talking about?_ Deep within his mind a blood red eye opened as its owner woke up from its nap.

_**What's this now kit?**_ Naruto sank into a cross-legged position and closed his eyes, creating a mental avatar of himself to talk with his tenant.

The representation of Naruto within the confines of his mind opened its eyes and gazed around the forest scene that the Kyuubi felt most comfortable in. He frowned as he realized that he couldn't see the red fur of the being he held locked in his soul, then shrugged slightly. The avatar set one palm against the ground and brought it upwards into the air. A short distance away, the ground cracked open as fresh soil bubbled up. The further Naruto's mental image brought its hand up, the further that the new ground rose. Soon, a respectable mountain had formed to give a clear vantage point of the forest around him. He scaled the face of the mountain rapidly and settled on the top and began searching around.

There! A flash of red could be made out from between the trees. Then red could be seen above as the Kyuubi brought its bulk up from the ground, rousing itself from slumber as it turned its gaze to where the Demon Container stood on his new mountain.

**"You had better get rid of that thing before you go kit. I like my forest the way it is thank you very much."** The avatar waved its hand in consent.

"Don't get your tails in a twist. Anyway, I came in here to talk. I have a break while Ronnel-niisan goes to find whatever seal it was that he was talking about." The massive demon's ears pricked forward to point directly at the mental construct.

"**What is it that you came in here for that I couldn't tell you as well without you intruding?**" Naruto's face was nonplussed as he sighed.

"My mind Kyuubi. Besides, it was you who came up with the whole 'enter your mind and find me for techniques' shtick. I figured the same thing applied if I was coming to you for help with a technique." The Kyuubi nodded slightly and swept one tremendous paw through the forest in front of him, clearing a swath of space. It laid down, indicating with a tilt of its nose that Naruto should approach it.

The avatar jumped down from the mountain it had created, the upturned soil sinking as he fell to the ground. By the time the image had landed, the mountain had vanished all together, leaving only a patch of bare dirt to mark where it had been. Naruto willed himself over to the spot where the Kyuubi had laid down, glad that the normal rules didn't apply within a mindscape. When he arrived, the demon had settled down, resting its snout on top of its paws and studying him as he approached.

"**Enlighten me please, what is it that you're coming for help for? You certainly don't need any help with Raiton or Fuuton, so it couldn't be one of those. For pretty much everything else, you use fuuinjutsu to compensate for inability.**"

"_Kitsune Bi_." The enormous nostrils flared in startlement. "Aniki said it would be a good idea if I could use more than one element. I assume that having even one technique from a third element will make me an even more dangerous foe for the normal shinobi." The Kyuubi nodded slowly, its eyes glazed over as it thought. Suddenly they sharpened as the being focused its gaze on him.

"**Can you access the **_**Kitsune Bi**_** normally?**" The avatar rolled its eyes and glared at the red furred demon. "**Thought not. Still have it go boom in your face…that would be quite the deterrent. I'm surprised you haven't realized this before Naruto, but the trick to using the **_**Kitsune Bi**_** is probably going to be my youki.**" Naruto groaned and slammed one palm into his face at this.

"Damn it Kyuu-sensei! You know I hate using your energy, even if it doesn't kill me anymore."

"**Oh, that's not the worst of it kit. If what I can guess about the seal that your pack's Alpha went to get is correct, if you do use that, you won't be able to access enough of my youki to use the –kit, your brother is back.**" Naruto dispersed his mental avatar, reorienting his consciousness to the real world. Ronnel had just come down the stairs, and he was holding a scrap of tattered paper in one hand, studying it with an intent gaze. He looked up just as Naruto's eyes refocused.

"I'm surprised you didn't run off to be with Temari." The older male grinned at the deep blush that spread across Naruto's face. "All right, all right. You'll have a day or two to have on break after you learn this." He turned the scrap of paper in his hand around so that his brother could see it clearly. The Jinchuruuki's hand snaked out and snatched the paper from his brother and brought it closer to himself. His eyes traced the curves of the main circle, then followed the intricate patterns that made up the inner, actual seal. Crimson-streaked blue orbs turned up to meet his brother's gaze.

"What is this?"

_**It's exactly what I thought it was kit! I don't know how the Alpha got his hands on a copy, but this is – **_Ronnel unknowingly interrupted the Kyuubi as he answered.

"It's an incredibly powerful demon suppression seal. Most have to be placed on the thing that is to be suppressed, or surround it, right?" Naruto nodded, thinking back to the Forest of Death where he had to seal away the invading mind that had been trapped inside of Gaara. "This is a few cuts above that in power. When active, which that one isn't by the way, it creates a field of energy that forces demon influences away. The field emanates out for a range of about two hundred yards from the center, or the seal itself. It follows the normal rules of sealing, so you don't have to use it on paper, but can carve it onto something." Naruto's eyes were wide as he stared at the innocent seeming slip of paper in his hand.

"Aniki….where did you get this thing?" The boy looked at his brother, who turned his head away and rubbed the back of his hair. After a moment of this, he glanced back to see that his younger brother was still staring at him, waiting for an answer. He sighed and sat down.

"It's a family thing actually. Remember when we traveled through the Hot Springs?" Naruto nodded. "I picked it up then. I knew I would give it to you eventually, but you didn't know what you held yet so I stored it away for later." He dropped his gaze with a sheepish smile on his face. "Then I forgot where I had sealed the thing. I found it last week after the Karaoke event, while I was preparing a list of things for you to learn." He tacitly left out the fact that he had found it in one of the old books that he had been reading, being used as a bookmark without realizing what it was. Naruto looked at the seal, still in awe of what it could do.

"That aside. You press this thing down, and the other Jinchuruuki won't be able to access their demon's abilities. Neither will you, but that's more of a moot point, since unlike Gaara, you don't normally use the Kyuubi's power. I don't know about the Nibi's container, so don't let your guard down with her. Also, if you are trying to suppress the power of someone who is an active Demon Release state, you'll have to place the seal on them somewhere. For that, I suggest having some paper tags with this seal on them ready to use." Naruto blinked as he looked up at Ronnel.

"You said that this isn't active. What's the activation trigger?" Ronnel nodded and reached out to the paper and tapped a finger on a line that was seemingly on the paper by accident. Without removing his finger from the paper, he traced the same line at the top of the seal, on the outside of the outermost circle.

"Copy that line over. I didn't do that because I figured you would want Kyuubi's input on this, and if I came down with the seal active, it wouldn't be able to use your senses to see what's going on." Naruto nodded at this and looked down again.

"Thank you Aniki."  
"Ah, don't thank me yet kiddo. You've got to memorize that seal now. Before you get that break I promised you, you're going to need to show me that you can accurately sketch that seal on several mediums in a matter of seconds." Ronnel grinned and wagged his finger as his younger brother grimaced. He then reached down and from his pouches pulled several things. A small piece of paper - the same used in normal ninja tags, a stick, and a sheet of metal. Also from the pouch came a charred stick to write with, and a special metal stylus with seals inscribed on the sides. All of these were handed to Naruto, who took them with one hand and set them on the ground absently as he studied the seal, memorizing the lines and swirls that made up the intricate symbol.

The blonde haired shinobi began sketching the pattern in the thin layer of dust that covered the floor of the basement. Ronnel watched him for a long while, then nodded and shifted to where he was sitting cross-legged. He watched in silence as his brother repeated the initial pattern over and over, going slightly faster with each repetition, pausing occasionally to wipe the floor in front of him clear and starting over. His eyes tightened imperceptibly when Naruto shifted over to sketching the full seal, each one activating as he finished drawing the final line.

_Ne, Kyuu-sensei, can you feel any difference?_ The Jinchuruuki was curious to know if all of these seals being active around him were affecting the demon sealed inside of him. Blue eyes widened when there was no response what so ever. He couldn't even project himself into his mindscape to find out what was going on with the Kyuubi. Just as he began to panic, his older brother reached one foot out and swept away the complete seals that were arrayed in front of him. As soon as he had, Naruto heard the Bijuu.

_**Damnit kit! Use those things with care!**_ Ronnel watched as Naruto's body relaxed.

"Hey Otouto, ask Kyuubi what other effects are. It'd know better than I do." He scowled when the younger shinobi waved his hand absently, his eyes already glazed over as he conversed with the demon.

_What happened there Kyuubi-sensei?_

_**Those damned seals canceled out all of the influence I have on you! And before you think that that isn't so bad, when they were active, my chakra couldn't heal you at all. So if you try using that in a normal combat scenario, you'll have to make bloody well sure you don't get hurt, because as long as it is in effect, you won't be getting any help from me. It'll be all your own chakra, so no fast healing, no enhanced senses, the chakra cloak will have to be your chakra which you know is a pain to maintain… use that as a last resort kit.**_ Naruto refocused his eyes and relayed the demon's words to his older brother, who nodded.

"Figures it would be a double edged sword. Alright, you know the seal. Now practice speed. The incomplete version first, then the complete." The boy slipped the metal stylus into his hand as he stood up slowly, preparing himself. His right foot darted out and swept a stone up into the air in front of Naruto. In the split instant that the rock hung in midair, the hand holding the stylus shot out, weaving back and forth. It fell, only to be caught by Ronnel when it bounced up. The Jounin studied it for a moment then tossed it back to his brother.

"Halfway. Again." A scowl flashed across Naruto's face before he sighed and nodded. Ronnel stood up and walked towards the stairs, pausing slightly as he created a Kage Bunshin to monitor Naruto's progress. The older man continued up the stairs, halting at the top to call back to his brother.

"Might want to practice hard Naruto. Tonight, we're having barbecued chicken for dinner, and if you're not done, it'll be cold and needing to be reheated." The blonde doubled his efforts at speeding up, eliciting a warning grunt from the clone when it checked a seal that the boy had made that was faulty, missing a line.

Upstairs, Ronnel nearly ran over Temari, who was hovering at the doorway with an anxious expression on her face. He shook his head with a smile and laid one hand on her shoulder to steer her away from the training room. She complied, knowing that Ronnel could and would pick her up and carry her away from the stairway, having been standing there for the past few days whenever she wasn't busy with her own training.

The former Sand kunoichi sank onto the couch while Ronnel sat down in his favorite overstuffed chair and pulled up a book. Temari blinked at it, an odd look crossing her face.

"Why on earth are you reading that thing?" The Jounin peered over the top of his book at her as he chuckled.

"Ko-chan asked me the same thing a few days ago you know. It's a decent enough read, though it does tend to get a bit dry. Anyway, you can relax you know. He's hit the limit of what I'm going to be teaching him, and his next teacher isn't available to help for another few days yet. As soon as Naruto finishes learning the seal I just assigned him, he'll have a little bit of free time, to spend however he wants." There was a long pause of silence for several minutes, before a raucous shout of triumph emerged from the basement. The girl's head snapped up, her eyes asking permission. Ronnel nodded slightly, then brought his book up to where he could read it. As Temari ran for the stairs, the man's green eyes rolled in a circle behind the book in fond exasperation.

"Geez, those two are worse than me and Ko-chan." Purple obscured his vision for a moment, causing him to close his eyes. He would have jerked his head back, but it was already resting on the headrest of the chair. The shinobi relaxed when he felt a pair of warm lips press against his and the familiar smell of his girlfriend's shampoo filled his nose.

Anko slid around the chair, tugging the book from Ronnel's hands and settling into his lap, a grin on her face as she looked at him.

"Who's worse than us Ron-kun?" To answer her, he jerked one thumb towards the stairs to the basement. She cackled evilly before jumping out of his lap and glancing back at him as she moved to the stairs. "They're both down there?" At his hesitant nod, her grin grew wider. Her hands flashed through a short chain of seals before she pulled the door to the stairway shut. The loyal Snake Summoner pressed her palm against the wooden door and smirked as it sealed shut.

"There. They'll have some…alone time…" She grinned evilly again. Ronnel frowned when he realized that just after she finished her technique, her sleeves had bulged. He rubbed his forehead.

"How many."

"Whatever are you talk-"

"How many Anko-hime?" She pouted at him before holding up two fingers. She blinked when a clone of her boyfriend appeared by his side then vanished. With a shrug, she dismissed it in favor of returning to her boyfriend's lap, pulling out a kunai as she moved closer to him. The male Jounin paled slightly and gulped as the kunoichi slid into his lap, drawing the kunai down the center of his shirt as she sank down, slicing it open. He winced when she slid the kunai back up the same path, this time cutting a thin line along the center of his chest.

**With Naruto**

The darkly clad Gennin crowed in triumph as the clone of his adoptive older brother nodded its head in acceptance of his work. His blue eyes widened when seconds later, a blonde blur thudded into him, knocking him off of his feet and onto the stone floor. His eyes swirled in his head as he sat up, one arm wrapping instinctively around the thing that had slammed into his body. A grin split his cheeks when Temari nuzzled his ear happily at that.

"Hey there." She pulled her head back and smiled up at him. Both of them whipped around to face the doorway when the door at the top of the stairs was slammed closed. They then turned and looked at the clone of Ronnel, which cleared its throat to gain their attention.  
"You're going to want a light source. Anko-chan let two snakes in here before she sealed the door shut." The two blondes paled at that, knowing full well how deadly the snakes of the Snake Summoning Contract could be. Naruto quickly scooped up the stone that he had won the clone's approval with and shattered it, relaxing only an infinitesimal amount when his contact with his demon was restored. He filled the Kyuubi in on the situation as he pulled a kunai out from his pouch. Temari had copied him, though neither one could see in the dark room.

Suddenly red chakra flowed out from Naruto's skin. Temari hesitated slightly at this, only to realize why the energy was emerging. In the malevolent red glow from the Kyuubi's chakra, the two ninja could make out the pair of snakes rushing at them. The Suna bred kunoichi threw her kunai at the snake closer to her, only to freeze in shock when the serpent caught the blade in its mouth and dropped it to the side. It continued on its way towards the shocked girl, only to have to pause to catch another kunai, this one from Naruto.

As soon as the snake's mouth closed on the kunai to render it ineffective, the head erupted into a burst of blood. Temari looked at her boyfriend shakily, only to see him wrestling with the second snake that had managed to reach him. Suddenly the snake stiffened and fell away, only to vanish into a cloud of smoke when it hit the ground. Naruto stood up and staggered to one side for a second, then straightened up and grinned at Temari.

"Lightning chakra. Probably the thing that snakes are the weakest to. And Tema-chan, you need to remember that these are ninja summons, so they'll know how to counter basic shinobi and kunoichi tactics. You've got to throw in an added surprise to kill them – like wrapping a kunai in wind chakra that will rip their heads apart when they try catching the kunai." He grinned at her then laid back. "Now we'll have some peace and quiet – Aniki wouldn't lie about something dangerous like this, if he said there were only two snakes, then there were only two snakes.

"Unless of course, Anko lied to him about how many snakes there were." Both Gennin whipped around to see the clone of Ronnel standing with one foot thrust out, the head of a snake caught beneath its heel. Naruto grimaced and nodded at that, then sighed in satisfaction when the clone pressed down, dispersing the snake summons back to its own realm.

"And with that out of the way, I'll leave you two alone." It thudded its fist against its chest and poofed into non-existence. Naruto stared up at the dark ceiling, the red light having faded when Kyuubi's chakra sank back into his coils when the threat was dealt with. He stiffened for a second when he felt Temari lay next to him, but let himself relax when she laid her head on his chest.

"So…what exactly did you and Haku talk about?" Naruto had found out that that was where Temari had vanished to on the Karaoke night four days ago, but he had yet to find out what the two girls had talked about, despite pestering both of them. When he felt the head on his chest shake negatively, he frowned, realizing he had to take more drastic measures.

"Tema-chan…" Her head rolled around so she could look at him. "You know how terrified even _Anko_ is of being a victim of one of my pranks?" She nodded. "And you remember that Aniki has promised to let me go all out on you three for the face painting incident?" A nervous nod. "If you tell me, I'll mark you off my list of targets."

That offer had Temari thinking about telling him. She squirmed slightly, but still managed to shake her head. Naruto chuckled slightly and shrugged. He wrapped one arm around her waist and held her against his side as they lay there on the cool stone of the basement floor.

**Ronnel and Anko**

Anko was pulled from her teasing on her boyfriend when there was a knock at the door. She glared at the door as Ronnel lifted her from his lap and moved to open it. An ANBU in a blank mask, indicating a low rank, was standing there. The ninja handed him the scroll it was carrying, then vanished into a Shunshin.

The Jounin opened it and read it as he walked back to his seat. A dark, dark scowl had settled on his face as he took in the information that was on the paper. His girlfriend's expression changed from a teasing grin to a worried expression as his own expression changed. She stood up and pulled him into her embrace and tried peering over his shoulder. Before her head reached his shoulder though, he had closed the scroll viciously, crumpling it up.

"What is it Ronnel-kun?" The young man grimaced before slumping down into his chair and rubbing his forehead wearily. He pondered answering for a second then sighed.

"Jiraiya-sama finally returned, and he brings news that is far from good. It seems that Orochimaru did a little bit of digging around, and found some Jashinist Masters to recruit. At last count, five Masters and three Apprentices near their Final Rites had joined him." He slammed a fist against the armrest of his chair, not noticing when the support in the armrest cracked from the force. "Damn it, there's a reason that Jashinists are forbidden. The way things are going now, when the invasion occurs, we'll have to face at least five Masters, but possibly eight. And if he continues recruiting them, who knows how many will join his flag." The Jounin stood up and began pacing.

"In order to counter this, Sarutobi wants me to have clones posted all over the city on the day of the invasion, so that I can arrive and react no matter where they strike. He also wants me to instruct a small group of shinobi in the weaknesses of Jashinists, and how best to fight them." Ronnel sighed and ran one hand through his hair, and relaxed into his girlfriend's arms when she hugged his waist. "The first and so far, only, session, is scheduled for tomorrow when I was going to introduce Naruto to the person who's been feeding me Raiton techniques for him to learn." Anko stiffened, knowing who it was that had been teaching Naruto through his older brother.

"I can find him and tell him to move up the meeting." The shinobi turned around and stared into Anko's eyes for a long moment before dipping his head forward and catching her lips in a kiss. When he pulled back, he was smiling.

"Thank you Kanojo. I guess I better go prepare for that cl-" There was another knock at the front door, making both ninja twitch. Ronnel strode over and flung the door open, only to find a blonde haired girl standing there, matching his gaze. He looked at her for a long moment, taking in the Kumogakure headband.

"What is it." Yugito drew in a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

"May I come in? There's something I need to discuss with you." The Jounin nodded slowly and stepped aside, glancing at his beloved as the foreign Gennin entered the building.

"Would you go break up the lovebirds?" The Jinchuruuki beside him blinked at him after that, but shrugged it off, not knowing who he was talking about. Anko tilted her head slightly and moved towards the stairs. Ronnel led Yugito into the front room and pointed her to one of the chairs.

"Care for tea?"

"No thank you sir." She began picking at the legs of her trousers nervously, refusing to meet his eyes. The man watched her do this for a few moments before sighing and shaking his head.

"Alright kid. What is it that you want to discuss with me?"

"Oh..uh…erm…" She faltered, but cleared her head and plowed on, knowing that the deadline that Kiba had given her was almost up. "Sir, you are aware of the kidnapping incident several years ago, where Kumogakure ninja tried kidnapping the Heiress of the Hyuugas?" She glanced up long enough to see his nod then dropped her gaze back to her lap. "That was an accident. Our previous Raikage had died, and the next one had not stepped into office yet due to some unforeseen circumstances. There was a brief period of time where the village council held all of the power, and they authorized several missions of that kind. The Hyuuga kidnapping was just the only one that was stopped in time. When the current Raikage took power, he repatriated the kidnapped victims back to their home villages, but between our two villages, the damage had been done. Rather than try to make amends that would destroy his village, our leader gave our shinobi and kunoichi a new mission prerogative that adds on to any mission we are involved in." Ronnel handed the girl a glass of water, having moved into the kitchen and gotten it without her realizing it. She accepted the glass gratefully.

"That added objective is that in any mission that we encounter Hyuuga, we are to protect them as much as we can without endangering our actual mission objectives." Forest green eyes snapped open wide when he heard that. Before he could speak, Yugito continued. "My squad isn't actually here to compete in the Chuunin Exams. When it was learned that Hyuuga Hinata would be joining in the Exams, our Raikage gave us an official mission, being paid for out of his own pocket. We are here to protect her, nothing more and nothing less. If you were told of what happened back in the stadium when Bakine tried attacking Hyuuga-san when she was down, that is the reason my teammate jumped out and grabbed the blade before it could strike her, even though it might have cost him his spot in the Exams to interfere." She looked up and directly at him. "That move was one all three of my team were getting ready to make, he was just the first to get out there. We'll do it again if she is attacked like that again in the finals." Ronnel rubbed his chin in thought for a minute before speaking.

"All right, I get that. But what I don't get is this – why are you telling me?"

"Eto…. We informed Hyuuga-san's teammate, the Inuzuka, of the mission objective, and he told us that if you were not told, he would go to the Hokage with the information. Since some of that information could be damaging to Kumo if it got out, I came here to talk to you. Can you keep that information to yourself sir?" She looked at him with pleading eyes.

_What the hell is it with Demon Containers and their unnatural ability to pull of that damned puppy dog eyes technique?_ Ronnel ran his hand down his face and sighed.

"Have you told Hinata?" Yugito nodded slowly. "Then fine. It's not my business what your village does, so long as it does not threaten me or mine. You can go back to wherever you're staying Nii-san, your secret is safe with me." Yugito collapsed in on herself, exhaling a greatly relieved sigh. She stood up and bowed to him, then turned and headed for the door, eager to get out of the building as she was still slightly tense about having to tell someone else about their mission. In her rush, she didn't notice two blonde figures move in front of her in the hall, talking to each other.

There was a muffled thud, followed by two cries of shock. Ronnel poked his head into the hall, and shook it when he saw Naruto staring at the ground behind him, and incredulous expression on his face. Temari was laying on the ground, with Yugito on top of her. Both kunoichi were struggling ineffectively to free themselves from falling over, and just kept tangling each other up in their clothes. The Jounin reached over and pulled the Kumo kunoichi off of the former Sunagakure girl.

"Tema-chan, are you ok?" Naruto finally snapped out of his stupor and helped his girlfriend to her feet. She nodded and brushed her lips against his in thanks, then turned and glared at the girl who had run into her.

"Why don't you watch where you're going Cloud-head?" The nervous tension drained out of Yugito in an instant, to be replaced by something else all together.

"What about you Sand-rat? You're the one who was hanging all over some poor guy and not paying any attention!" Yugito had finally registered who the other blonde was, and an emotion she didn't recognize had filled her when Temari kissed him.

Both girls were getting riled up, and to the eyes of the two shinobi, a fight was inevitable. That was, until another hand reached out and pushed Yugito towards the front door and shoved her unceremoniously out. Before she could respond to the rough handling, the door was closed firmly.

"You, up to your room." Anko pointed her hand at Temari, who grumbled but nodded and strode off, Naruto following her with a strange expression on her face. The loyal Snake Summoner looked at her boyfriend, who shrugged his shoulders, at a loss for why the Kumogakure kunoichi had reacted so violently to Temari.

"That was…odd. Ok, I'm going out to find him. You get ready to be the big bad combat instructor. I might even show up to this thing." Ronnel nodded slowly then walked up the stairs, intent on his room. Anko stared after him for a moment, then turned and headed outside, shunshining towards where she knew her target to be at this time of day.

**Streets of Konoha – Yugito**

_That is it Nibi! Explain to me why the hell I am reacting like this around that guy!_ The demon sealed within the Kumo girl heaved a massive sigh before replying.

_**Remember the Forest of Death, where you got a nose full of his scent? You bonded with him then. You see him as your pack leader, but more than that. You see him as the perfect mate. In essence, your body wants him to dominate it and to bear his kittens. You reacted so strongly to the other girl because she was close to him, closer than you are. It was an instinctive reaction to another female poaching on 'your territory'. If she were the second in your pack, it would be one thing, but right now, your instincts and your mind don't agree - for one thing, you haven't mentioned how you feel to him, now has he actually accepted you as one of his mates. Right now, she's a rival that your instincts want you to beat down and put in her place.**_ There was a long moment of silence, before a shriek rent the still night air.

"I WANT _WHAT?_"

_**AN: Despicable Author Style: Dramatic Scene Change!**_

**Konohagakure Apartments**

Ronnel poked his head into Temari's room and nodded to his brother, indicating that he needed to speak to him. The blonde boy squeezed his girlfriend's hand then got up and moved out into the hallway to stand in front of his adoptive sibling.

"Alright, I was going to do this tomorrow, but something has come up to where I may not be able to be around when your official Raiton instructor is here." Naruto blinked in shock. "I have to handle a special class tomorrow when he is scheduled to arrive. Anko has gone to talk to him about rescheduling but… it's your old sensei."  
"_Kakashi-baka wants to train me?_" The words were spoken in a hissed voice of astonishment. His older brother nodded his head slowly.

"He wants to try making amends for screwing up so royally before. He's going to give you a scroll of some of the basic Raiton and not so basic ones, and help you with any you think you'll have trouble with. Naruto." Their eyes locked. "Be nice to the poor guy. He had his world torn down around him. I got him drunk a few weeks ago, and it turns out that he took you on to help train you because you remind him of his own sensei, and he regrets focusing on the little shit head. By the way, that was his own phrase to describe Sasuke." Naruto began laughing at that. "Yeah, apparently without you around to deflate his head, the Duckass has just gotten worse. A few times Kakashi has been driven to the point where he nearly gave up and forked the Uchiha over to Ibiki." The laughing just got harder, to the point where the blonde haired Demon Container was doubled over with his fist in his mouth.

"Anyway. I'll be handling a class at the same time that Kakashi is supposed to get here, so don't be too surprised ok?" Naruto nodded, struggling to calm his laughter. He managed it and straightened up, though he still had a wide grin on his face. "Good. Do well enough in the training that he gives you, and I'll see if Sarutobi and I can convince Jiraiya-sama to train you a little in Fuuinjutsu. Now, get to bed, you've got training tomorrow." With a sigh and a glance back towards Temari's room, Naruto began heading to his room.

"Oh, and Naruto?" The boy paused and looked back at Ronnel. "You might want to keep an eye on your sandy friend. He's taken to calling you Naruto-sama." Naruto shuddered slightly, then nodded his thanks before resuming his path back to his room. Ronnel leaned against the wall and watched him go before shaking his head.

"You've got big things ahead of you Otouto, and I need to get you ready for them now. I won't always be here…" He ran the fingers of on e hand through his hair before sighing and heading up to his room, leaving the door open enough so that it wouldn't lock and keep Anko out long enough to irritate her. The Jounin never noticed that Temari's door was open just a crack, nor that she had listened to everything the two had said. The girl headed back to her bed after shutting her door, pondering the man's strange statement before she drifted off to sleep.

_**AN:  
And done with this chapter. This was a bit difficult to write since my muse kept vanishing at strange times, but what can an author do? Tie the little buggers up and you don't get a single good idea from them.**_

_**Jutsu Translations: (Haven't done this in a while lol.)**_

_**Raiton: Muchi no Erekutoron**_

_Lightning Style: Electron Whip:_

Creates a thin and flexible band of negatively charged electricity that extends from two fingers on a single hand per whip. Whip reacts to muscles being flexed, so a highly skilled user could merely twitch a few muscles high up in their arm and cause the whip to dance about like a ballerina. Whip charge varies based on how much chakra is put into it – low charge can stun, while higher charges can cause contact burns or electrocution. Masters of the technique can have up to four whips active at any time, creating a deadly opponent.

_**Blah, that's out of the way. Now for the reviewer responses.**_

**EbonPurlight:**

Glad you enjoy the girls, but they aren't the only ones. One more person is joining Naruto's group, indicated in this chapter.

**Apocaliptic 20:**

Good to hear that you enjoyed them. That's one of my favorite songs, and it fits poor Naruto so well.

**Someone 179:**

Lol, you aren't the only one. I am incredibly unused to writing sheer fluff, so I struggled to write this chapter. Don't worry, the action is going to pick back up soon.

I love that no one in the reviews wondered enough to ask who won the contest.

**Lostmyshoeinsheol:**

Surprisingly, for Ronnel/Anko, I had no trouble on images as soon as I knew what song to use. Same with Ino (then again, that song really is her song so…) No, it was Naruto that I had an insane amount of trouble with, to the point where I finally gave up on it.

And the Gaara thing is just…creepy…. –shudders-

Sorry to say that I have no clue about that scene. I haven't seen the manga since the Hachibi host put the smack down on the giant squid.

Muahahahahahaha! I am an utterly despicable author with full command of my techniques!

**Wyrtha:**

Glad you liked that scene, it felt kind of rushed to me. And it's not that he hasn't been – it's that Temari doesn't know. As far as she knows, Naruto is too happy to have ever suffered betrayal, despite the fact that he has.

**Dkh1212:**

Hope you enjoyed this chapter as well.

**Sythangelwing:**

-pauses and goes back to reread last review-

Ohhhhhh, numbah 4. Yeah, knew that was a joke lol. Yeah, I'm a new freshie at college, so my time is eaten up. That, plus a muse who bounces between Naruto and Harry Potter like a squirrel on crack… eh. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and if you want to read some work of mine, I did just start putting up chapters for a Harry Potter fanfic. That might help whet your appetite.

**Caesaraugusta:**

Interesting name. Anyway, hope you liked this chapter too.

**Firelordeg:**

Eh? The… ah ha! You read/reviewed the other story lol. Threw me off, thought you had reviewed this one twice. Hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Warriorx559:**

I thought so too. And as for the alpha thing – Naruto still thinks of Haku more of as a friend, so she has to make the first move, and she was to reticent about it until Temari showed up. Now, it's too late.

**Hanzo of the Salamander:**

Glad you thought so of the last chapter, hope this one does as well.

**Timetails:**

Uh, not sure what you're asking, but Zabuza has his Kubikiri Houcho….

**Still Not Dead Yet:**

Uhm….sorry to ask, but what do credit cards have to do with Karaoke? We have a home Karaoke system at my house, and there was another at my college orientation…. –is seriously confused-

Yeah, Haku was done waiting around. After the drunk scene, everyone knew that day was coming. 

Anyway, here's the next update, hope you enjoy it!

**Aiten Kaito:**

Yeah, that's because of a malfunction where the original chapter two was removed from . Unfortunately, I lost the laptop that I was first working on, so I didn't have the file anymore. The rewrite is a little buggy, gomenesai.

**Meh:**

Ah, don't worry, you might actually have a good idea of the Naruverse as according to Kishimoto. This is my version, so things in here don't always synchronize with what he's got going on. For instance – a religion that gives you nigh on immortality? That shit would be hellaciously popular, despite the fact that it is so evil. Yet, in Kishimoto's Naruverse, there is ONE practitioner. WTF is that? Anyway, I try.

**Nelo Akuma:**

First off: HOLY NIGHTS BATMAN! This is the single most intensive review I have ever gotten, and wham bam it hit them all! Alright, I'll try to answer as much as I can:

Ronnel – Aye, not an SI. I'm a roleplayer on Gaia, and Ronnel is based off of one of the characters I use there. That helped in making him an actual person instead of an overpowered person who just came in and steamrolls the opposition for 'Ruto.

Naruto versus/still canon Naruto. Just see the steel wool scene for that lol.

Relationships: Of all the Naruto characters, Anko is probably one of the most underappreciated. Despite the fact that she's a former apprentice of a Sannin, a Special Jounin, and SIC of Torture and Interrogation, she is really kind of weak. I figured she needs some love since it's obvious Kishimoto won't give her anyone so… And yes, the harem is going to be Naru/Tema/Haku/Yugi. The second two are going to start making their moves after the time skip though.

Sasuke & Jashin: Honestly, I don't much like Hidan and his religious streak either, so I sat down and came up with a reason for him to act this way. I came up with: Jashin imbues scythes with his personality, so as long as someone is holding one of his scythes, he can talk to them. Hidan carries his around with him out in the open, so he has over time been subjugated to years of a demigod nagging him. I also used Jashin as an alternative to Sasuke getting the godmod eyes (seriously, that's what they are.)

Fights: Any in particular? Hopefully not Lee's… 

Gaara: Yeah, that seemed a little too blatant too. But remember, in this story Shukaku is actually much calmer, though you don't see much aside from that first scene when Gaara and Naruto meet. In this, Gaara was much like Naruto was, which didn't fit in with his father's schemes for him. So the bastard sealed an insane priest inside of Gaara as well, which is what made him go crazy and become a homicidal maniac. That's what Naruto dealt with in the Forest of Death. And a foreshadowing – that priest is going to make another appearance….

Invasion: Just wait and see hehe.

Updates: I try my best, though I alternate between this and an HP fic. Aside from that, I'm a college freshman with a heavy load of classes. 

Whew!

**Umbra8191:**

Hope you enjoyed this chapter as well.

**Nayami-chan:**

-wags finger- My hair is always messed up or under a hat, so don't think you can do too much to it. And the 'checking your bimbo' part is what confused me. Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter as well. I'll see you next time with a "Grimoire Chronicles" update.

**ManofSteele:**

-laughs- You're the second person doing one of these. Read the updates section on my response to Nelo Akuma for that. Yes, I'm one of the people who believes that any truly powerful technique must have something tied in with it that makes it so that it isn't just pulled out at the first sign of trouble. Yugito gets screen time here, hope you liked the explanation that Nibi gives her. Yeah, I reread my story every so often, actually I just got done rereading it as I worked on this chapter as a matter of fact. It helps remind me where I'm going with it. Yeah, Ronnel will get another shot at the Hebi-yaru as well as a Jashinist Master at the same time. I don't intend on making things easy for him. And don't worry if you don't know about something in my other story – I always strive to ensure that anyone can read my stories, even if they know nothing about what's going on. 

**To Lazy to Log in (The Original):**

Yeah, same meaning for both.

The start of that oh so interesting conversation is in this chapter, but more is going to go on off stage. Decided to be mean there.

They will begin after the Exams – at least, Haku will. Nothing will really happen between Naruto and anyone but Temari until after the timeskip though, sorry to disappoint you if you wanted some action sooner on that front.

Yeah, I almost used Nickleback's _"Next Contestant"_ just for the fight, but I went a more…relationship route.

**Livin la vida Connor:**

Thanks for that. May or may not read your story, not particularly a fan of KH.

**Tolazytologin:**

Just wait and see. Just wait and see.

…**.uhm, not going to get involved in the name dispute there.**

**Azrei: **

Thanks. I hope I do, this story still has a road to travel down.

**Rixxel Stryfe:**

Thankee. Haven't seen the Jashin cult actually made into a major foe , so I decided that it was time they were shown as the villains that they are lol. The harem for Naruto will be him and three girls, while Ronnel gets two. That answer your question well enough?

_**Alright, putting this to everyone who reviews my story : Putting a poll up on my page, please vote on it. It concerns these ANs and the review responses.**_

_**Until next time, G.T. Out!**_


	31. Chapter 30

_**Chapter 30: End of Training, The Rising Darkness**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Kishimoto seems to be finally getting his act together though.**_

_**Undisclosed Location within Konoha**_

Ronnel stared at the group of shinobi and kunoichi that had assembled there. There were several Akamichis, Aburames, Naras, along with less represented clans. Then the individual shinobi and kunoichi unattached to clans that were the majority of the ninja forces of Konoha. A quick headcount showed him that all the people who were supposed to be here were, along with several extra guests. That was fine by him, the more people that could handle the threat that was coming the better. He slammed one hand against the blackboard behind him, the loud crack waking up the early arrivals who had begun dozing.  
"Alright you lot, you all know why you are here. If you don't know, get your arse over to Ibiki immediately." There was silence, and no one moved. "Good. Now then, the first thing about the people you are being lectured in how to fight that you need to know is this. Absolutely do not let them get your blood. If we had more time I would be training you in how to fight them without being touched, but we don't have that long, so we're going with this. If you get injured, burn the blood, scatter it to the wind, bury it, flood it out, I don't care. Get rid of it before they can get their hands on it. The reason for this is simple - once they taste your blood, the danger to you skyrockets." The man known as the Hunter of the Dark God tapped a symbol drawn on the blackboard.

"If for some reason you cannot prevent your opponent from getting some of your blood, watch out for this symbol being drawn on the ground. They typically do it with their scythe, but I have known one or two who threw down a series of kunais tied together with ninja wire to do the same thing. Now, I'm going to make sure you did your homework. You, Akamichi," Ronnel pointed to one of the women who was leaning against the wall a few yards back. "What is this symbol a perversion of?" The woman's face scrunched up in thought, and the former Hidden Springs shinobi could tell that the Nara next to her was itching to tell her.

"Oh! It's an old marriage ritual!" The Akamichi woman perked up as she spoke. Ronnel nodded before glancing around.

"Now then, who can tell me what happens when one of these dark beings get a hold of your blood and can finish this seal?" A nervous silence answered him. Then Sarutobi Asuma leaned forward, cigarette dangling from his lips as he spoke.

"Whatever they do to their body is copied to the person whose blood they have ingested. The reason this is such a problem is that the Jashinist Masters have acquired a form of immortality, though none know how. Well, none but the Jashinists, and you and those you've told. This immortality lets them inflict grievous wounds on their own body and thus their victims, but survive even when their victim does not. Aside from avoiding it, there is no known counter to this ability." The Hokage's son sat back in his chair.

Ronnel nodded. "Accurate assessment, though a bit incorrect. A second way of dealing with a Jashinist who has acquired your blood and finished this seal is incredibly simple, though many shinobi forget when their body is being wracked by pain. Destroy the seal. Even scuffing a single line in the dirt will render this seal invalid, and its power null. A second limitation of this seal over the original marriage rite seal is that the Jashinist must remain in the seal for it to work. If for any reason the Jashinist is not in the seal, the damage is not transferred. Now then, on to hurting these bastards." The claymore wielder turned around and sketched two basic stick figures holding scythes. Above one he wrote a stylized "A" symbol, while the other had a "Mu" symbol.

"Apprentices are, despite everything, almost more of a threat than their Masters." He tapped the figure below the "A". "This is because they have not yet let their skills go lax, while also possessing some of the protections offered by their god. They are tougher than a normal shinobi, and all are incredibly skilled in wielding their scythes. Treat these foes as more dangerous than the average Jounin, and you will be fine." His hand moved to the second figure under the "Mu" symbol.

"Masters are easier to fight but harder to kill. Most masters are heavily reliant on the perverted ritual that we just covered, and many have let their other shinobi skills grow rusty. However, they are insanely skilled with their scythe, and many have built strange tricks into their fighting styles that rely on the fact that they cannot be killed. Expect attacks that would be suicidal for a normal shinobi, just to get a drop of your blood." The trench-coat wearing Jounin ran a hand through his hair.

"To kill these two require different methods. A Jashinist Apprentice can be slain as one would kill a normal shinobi, just with more damage needed. It is the Masters that are nigh-on impossible to kill. To understand their immortality, you must know where it comes from. In exchange for one hundred blood sacrifices gained within a few hours, Jashin grants part of his immortality to his followers. They must then continually acquire more sacrificial blood for their master, or else he will strip this protection from them." There were several disgusted murmurs throughout the crowd of listening ninja. "The Jashinist Masters all have a vial containing blood from that first hundred sacrifices somewhere within their body. Unpleasant to think of. However, it is vital to know this, because if you destroy this vial of blood, you render the Master mortal, stripped completely of all protection." One Nara, a man who had shaved his head bald to avoid the trademark pineapple spikes that his hair would grow into, raised his hand. "Yes?"

"Is there any specific location that the vial containing the blood of the sacrifices must be? If so, it would make taking these monsters down much easier." Those who could hear the shinobi nodded in agreement.

"Unfortunately, no there is not. I have fought Jashinist Masters who have had them in their feet, their lower backs, one who had it in her dominant hand, and one who had it in his left ass-cheek. These are just some of the stranger positions. So long as the vial is underneath their skin, it does not matter where it is. The only way to kill a Master is either to have a medical sensor examine them and locate it for precision, or to simply rip him or her into such small pieces that you find it. Fighting a Jashinist Master is a bloody business people, and if you can't handle tearing someone apart, get out now. You cannot rely on getting a lucky shot in and breaking the vial, you must be fully ready to keep slicing them apart until you _know,_ without a single doubt, that the vial is broken." As he had spoken, several of the more squeamish shinobi and kunoichi had looked down ashamedly. One shaking shinobi suddenly broke and ran out, and that started a flood.

When the last of the shinobi who could not stomach what had to be done was gone, the headcount Ronnel took showed that about a sixth had departed. He looked at those who remained and nodded.  
"Good. You lot will be spread out amongst the rest of our forces on I-Day. It will be up to you to handle any Apprentices or Masters that are detected. Listen to me people – do NOT, under any circumstances, hesitate to get back up in fighting these monsters. They have no problem causing indiscriminate slaughter, and in fact that is what they take pleasure from. Now then…" From there the lesson shifted into a planning session as Ronnel and the other Jounin figured out where they would be positioned.

Looking at the drawings of the village, one Aburame noticed 'R' marks scattered around the village, seemingly at random. She drew the others' attention to these marks and asked Ronnel what they meant.

"Those will be places my clones are positioned. I'm going to be highly mobile during this. If you find any hints of Jashinist activity, or of Orochimaru himself, immediately get to one of my clones and disperse it. I will be there as soon as possible to provide support. That brings up something I didn't mention earlier, that bears saying nonetheless. If you see Orochimaru, do not engage him unless you have at least four other Jounin with you, or Jiraiya is on the scene. Is that understood?" There were nods from the Jounin there. "Alright, Naras, you have the floor for wrapping up this planning session." Shikaku stepped forward and began outlining the rest of the ninja positions as Ronnel slipped out to the hall.

He turned to the guard who was standing outside. "Did you get the names of all those who left earlier?" The scar-faced guard nodded. "Good. Go tell them that on I-Day, they are going to help you watch after the children and civilians." The man who had been standing in the hall nodded again before a strange expression crossed his face.  
"Ne, Ronnel-san, why did you include me in this lesson? Wouldn't it be good to have me helping watch out for them?"

"No. hWe need you with the evacuation forces Dolphin. If something goes wrong, you are the ace in the hole to save those people." The man Ronnel was talking to nodded to this explanation.

"Very well. I'll go let them know. And Ronnel-san?" He blinked. "Be careful. It would destroy Naruto if he lost you." Ronnel grinned and clapped the man who had guarded the lesson on the shoulder.

"Don't worry about that my friend. I fully intend to see my otouto instated as Hokage, get married to Anko, and spoil my grandkids. This little invasion is not going to get in the way of those goals."

_**The Apartments, Same time as the lesson**_

Naruto was pacing nervously in the front hall. He didn't know how he would take to seeing his former instructor again, and hoped that the man's actions had shaped up since then. The blonde haired shinobi was alone in the house, something he was not anticipating. Anko had taken the Sand Siblings with her on some minor errand, and Haku had had to go to work at the local shinobi hospital. Being alone with Kakashi was not something that the blue eyed Jinchuruuki had anticipated, and he was wracked by nerves as he waited for the man.  
Of course, if Kakashi hadn't gotten his act together and made it on time, Naruto would end up pacing here for two hours. Oh, the pranking that would be targeting that man if he didn't show up on time…it would make Anko happy with what he had in mind for her. As he was plotting out the torture of the silver haired shinobi if he dared to be late, plans that involved a couple yards of pink cloth, a spoon, a slice of ham, two Inuzuka hounds and some lard, there was a knock on the door. A glance to the clock hanging on the nearby wall showed that it was Kakashi's appointed time to show up, which meant that there was no way it was the silver haired Jounin. Naruto tugged the door open, ready to tell whatever ANBU or civilian where they could go shove what they had to say, only to stop and stare in blank shock.

"Yo." That same greeting that had met him every day that he was on Team Seven met Naruto now. "Your brother mentioned that you're trying to learn Raiton techniques, and I'm the best guy in the village for that. Think you can put up with this screw-up long enough to get some learning done?" The blonde haired Jinchuruuki nodded shakily and stepped to one side.  
"Sorry.. uh, please come in." Kakashi shook his head slightly, a grin evident under his mask.

"Maa maa Uzumaki-kun, I don't know where he's been teaching you until now, but Lightning Style techniques are best learned out in the open. It reduces ricochet damage. If you're in agreement, I have a training grounds outside of the city reserved for our use." Naruto was about to grip the man's outstretched hand, but a sudden worry made him pull it back.

"Show me your eye Hatake-san." The visible eye blinked.

"Err, why?"

"To make sure you are you. Aniki would get incredibly pissed at me if I just walked into a trap because I was too trusting. Besides, you showed up on time, and that in and of itself reeks of something fishy going on." Kakashi chuckled lightly but lifted his hitai-ate up, revealing his three-tomoe Sharingan spinning lazily, the blood red orb standing out sharply against the pale skin of his scar.

"And your brother used a strange ninjutsu on your teammate to pull her out of a coma near the end of our Wave mission." These two things convinced the blonde demon container that Kakashi was who he claimed to be, despite showing up on time. They hadn't told anyone of Ronnel bringing Sakura out of her comatose state, so the only way to know that was to have been one of the people there. This time, the boy took the offered hand after stepping outside and locking the door to the Apartment Complex behind him. The pair vanished into a swirl of leaves, the street empty and quiet once more.

_**Training Grounds Near Konohagakure outer east wall**_

Naruto looked around, taking in the grounds that he would apparently be training in for the foreseeable future. It was a field, primarily bare, stripped of the trees that were evident everywhere else. There were a few large boulders dotting the earthy field, but aside from that nothing was to be seen until you reached the surrounding forest. He turned his gaze to the silver haired man standing next to him, curiosity filling his eyes.

"This is the best place available to us for you to train in Raiton techniques Naruto. Nothing to get caught by an errant lightning burst, no water to accidentally charge with a powerful shock… and these boulders are toughened via seals to be highly resistant to lightning techniques. They, of course, are going to be the targets you practice on. Now then, take a look at these scrolls and see if there are any that you think you'll need my help demonstrating." Kakashi pulled a pair of scrolls out and handed them to the boy, who accepted them. One scroll was slipped inside his jacket while he unrolled the second. Most were jutsu that he would likely be able to learn on his own, when he could decipher them from the shaky hand that they were written in.

"Ne, Hatake-sensei, did you write all of these out yourself?" The one-eyed Jounin rubbed the back of his head and responded, just as Naruto realized that he had yet to see the orange book that Kakashi read so much.

"Kinda had to, sorry. The Konoha Scroll Library doesn't have a section devoted to Raiton because so few people have it. Makai, I think I'm the only one who had the affinity before you demonstrated it." The blonde blinked and looked at the scroll in his hands in a new light. There were around ten techniques written on this scroll, and it wasn't the only one. And these weren't just 'do these seals and this happens' descriptions, they were full, detailed analysises of the jutsu and how it worked to do what it did.

"Can you try showing me this one? I think I have an idea of how it should work, but I'd like to make sure of it." Finally he pointed at one halfway down the scroll. Kakashi looked at the technique that had been listed, then nodded to himself.

"Dendou Hari Higari no Jutsu. Shouldn't you be focusing on something that will help you in your fight against the Sound kid?" Kakashi had no problem with demonstrating the technique, but for this to be the one that Naruto focused on was odd.  
"That's already in the bag Hatake-sensei. I'm more worried about the fights afterwards – at least two of them are going to be against opponents who are heavily taijutsu oriented, and I need to be ready for that style of fighting. This will give me a nice balance and defense, with a surprise in case I need it. Now, please?" Kakashi eye-smiled and nodded. His hands slid through the chain of seals with practiced ease, slowing enough to make sure that the Jinchuruuki was able to catch them all.

"Dendou Hari Higari no Jutsu!" The silver haired shinobi turned to one of the nearby boulders just as he finished the technique. Soon, a glow lit the ground in front of his feet as glowing white and yellow needles appeared across his torso. Naruto reached out and touched one cautiously, only to pull his hand back with a yelp as the electric current shocked his hand. After the pain subsided, he noticed a strange deadening sensation in his hand where he had touched the needle. A short grunt from his temporary teacher made the Demon Container look up in time to see the man make a half-ram seal and jerk his arm out of the way. The electric needles that were spread across his chest suddenly erupted, flying across the short gap to slam into the boulder. Instead of punching into the stone, the Raiton jutsu needles dispersed across the surface, making it glow a bright yellow. A flash of light ripped from the boulder as Naruto watched in shock. A thin stream of electricity spat from the top of the boulder to streak into the sky, dissipating harmlessly into the atmosphere.

"Told you, they're protected against Raiton techniques. That's the main function of the protection, redirecting the current. Are you ready to try that?" Kakashi leaned against another boulder, watching Naruto intently. The boy nodded slowly as he faced the boulder that the Copy-Cat's technique had struck.

The bucket hat wearing boy's hand-seals were nowhere near as smooth and seamless as his instructor's had been. He blinked and shivered when he missed the final two, already afraid of what the results would be. His face spasmed as the electric current that had been building up to form into the needles was disrupted, and discharged into his body.

_** "Oi kit, what the Makai are you doing out there? You just screwed with nearly every nerve ending in your body!" **_The Kyuubi had been napping, and the sudden drain on its energy to heal the damage had woken it up. Naruto dropped his head and rubbed his hair sheepishly.

_"Sorry Kyuu-sensei, I messed up an electric technique. Didn't damage anything permanently did I?"_ There was a snort in response to the silent question.

_**"No kit. Nothing is seriously damaged from that, but try not to do it too much or that might change. Now let me sleep."**_ There was a grumble of frustration as the immensely powerful demonic entity returned to slumber as Naruto went back to working on the technique. He would take more care, heeding his inhabitant's warning.

"Dendou Hari Higari no Jutsu." The actions were a tad easier this time, and he didn't forget the seals at the end. There was a new sensation as spots of high electric charge formed on his skin, somehow ignoring his clothing that was in the way. The blonde Gennin formed the seal that he had seen Kakashi use and pulled his arm out of the way quickly, watching in satisfaction as the needles flew from his torso to impact the boulder, causing a repeat of the redirection from earlier.

"Now Naruto, I should tell you about this, to make sure you don't skip over it. The needles can be formed over any part of your body at any time, and will only disperse if something impacts them, you release the technique, or if you use the launching option." Kakashi spoke up from his spot off to the side. Naruto nodded absently, filing the information about the technique away in his mind as he scooped up the scroll. The rest of these techniques were ones that he would be able to learn on his own, if not all before the Exams. He would have to focus on one or two more from this scroll and the other one.

_**Konoha Shinobi Medical Center**_

Haku wiped her brow as she looked around. The final preparations for the Final Exams, and I-Day, were nearly complete, and the director of Iryou-nin was running all of his forces ragged. The less-skilled mednins had been busy preparing basic medicine while the higher ranked ones were focused on creating the special food pills for the Akamichi clan's techniques, and on the antidotes for those same pills. She herself had been assigned to any minor injuries that came from training during this time, as she had the healing skill of a top-notch medical ninja, but lacked the medicinal knowledge to create the food pills and antidotes. Luckily, there hadn't been too many in during this time, or else she would have been worn out completely.

She froze as a shiver passed down her spine. Into the hospital, cradling one arm against his chest, was the Uchiha Heir that she had come to detest. Haku schooled her face into a mask of professionalism as the duckass-haired boy approached the reception desk.

"I burnt it." This was all that was said as the boy brusquely thrust his arm into Haku's face, fully expecting her to just heal the burns and forget about him. That wasn't about to happen though – while she might wish she never had to see him again, once he had walked through those doors with an injury, the idiot was her responsibility. She muttered the name of a jutsu under her breath, one that made her hands glow with a green and silver hue.

There was heavy evidence of burning, but it wasn't accidental burns. The results from Haku's scan was indicative of an attempt to burn something away, of concentrated and sustained fire. She frowned – his go at self-mutilation had burnt away whatever it was that he had intended it to, leaving no hints of what it had been that he had been burning. She knew that it had been Sasuke who had held the flames onto his arm – it was his chakra signature all over the wounds. With a sigh, Haku began healing the burns.

When she was done, Sasuke tore his arm away from her grasp and grunted at her before nearly running out of the medical center. The teenage girl pulled out a small notepad from her spot at the reception desk, then a pen, and wrote down a quick note to let Ronnel and Anko know about the strange actions of the Uchiha. There had been a darker note to his chakra signature as well, but she didn't know what to make of that yet. Then she was distracted as a young female shinobi came in, blubbering about forgetting to use a contraceptive technique. With a heavy sigh, Haku returned to work.

_**Higarachi Weapons Store**_

"Anko, are you going to tell us why we're here or not?" Temari was rapidly growing frustrated. The Snake Mistress had been dragging her and her brother's throughout the town all morning, stopping at random stores and making tiny purchases, only to suddenly set off again. They had finally come to this one, the weapons shop that Naruto had brought them to weeks ago when they first arrived, and they had been there for nearly fifteen minutes now. The purple haired woman turned her head from the scythe display that she had been studying, and tilted it.

"Tell me blondie, have you ever seen what it is that our boyfriend's fight? Yes, they've told us about it, but from what I know, no one but them has ever actually fought one of the bastards and one."

"So? How many can there be really?" Anko laughed, a hollow sound, and placed her hand against the case.

"All of these scythes, they each belonged to Masters, and a few high-level Apprentices. And Ron-kun tells me that they are nowhere near close to done stamping out the cult. So count the weapons here, then multiply them several times." The loyal Snake Summoner turned back to the blades on display. "But…even though they are so horrible, I have to be glad that they exist…"

"What on earth?" This came from Kankuro, who had been watching silently. He didn't shrink back when Anko turned to look at him. "Don't give me that look! You just said you were glad that a bunch of murdering psychopaths exist!"

"Fuck yeah I am kid. Without them.. Without them, Ron-kun would never have lost his village, without that he would never have been forced to be a wanderer. Then he never would have met Naruto, and there's no telling how the blonde brat would have turned out without his Aniki helping him through. And…" Her voice quieted. "And I never would have met him, and I'd still be alone. These monsters got him ready for a battle against the traitor Sannin. The number of people who can fight Orochimaru one on one, and who are loyal to Konoha, can be counted on one hand. Jiraiya, _maybe_ Hatake, and the Hokage. Other than that? No one. He could fucking kill every last one of us in a fight, simply because he is that overwhelmingly powerful. I don't know how it works for sure, but Ronnel-kun can negate some of the advantages that the bastard has." Her gaze locked onto Temari.

"You asked why we are here. It's simple – I want to get something to help Ronnel-kun match Orochimaru. I'm one of the only people who know about a lesser-known fact of our favorite blacksmith."

"Aye, and there's a reason for that you know." Kousuke ducked through the flap of the store, carrying a decrepit scroll in his hands. The scroll looked to be falling apart, but it was huge, nearly as tall as Gaara. The redhead raised one eyebrow as this was set down on one end near him.

"What is this thing?"

"It's .." His eyes turned to his sister, who was staring at it in shock. "It's a summoning contract! But…but only ninja have them!"

"Not only ninja miss. I picked this thing up years ago, from my grand-da's estate when he died. He wasn't a ninja either – he was given this scroll for safe-keeping. But Anko-san is right in what she told me, the overgrown weed needs this thing a lot more than anyone else. You make sure it gets to him, ya hear?" The tremendous blacksmith's gaze was on Anko, who nodded. She picked the scroll up and tied it to her back, grimacing at the cumbersome weight.  
"Thank you Kousuke. Did Tenten take to the poisoned weapons well?"

"Not yet. She's still warming up to them, but when she does it'll be like peanut butter and jelly. Now go on, I have smithing to do and I can't do it with potential customers out here." He made shooing gestures at them, chasing them from his shop. Kousuke stood in the doorway as he watched them head down the street and shook his head slowly. "Can't believe that that old contract is finally going to be used…wonder if I should have tried harder to convince Tenten-chan to sign it.." He sighed and headed back into the rear of the weapons store.

_**Uchiha Clan Complex**_

Sasuke slumped against the wall, holding his freshly bleeding arm as he bit back tears.

_Very good child, very good… you managed to get a hostile medic to heal your wound despite her own wishes. And I can already tell that she missed the scarring of the seal that she healed amongst the burns, very good indeed child. You've begun on the other seals, you must complete them now and repeat the process. It will be well worth your time and effort to do so, even if you cannot get that same healer to repair your injury._

_Jashin-sama, from what your scriptures have instructed, this is not a normal part of becoming one of your greatest Disciples…may I ask what it is for?_ A feeling of empty cheer came from the scythe lying on the ground beside the boy.

_Oh, it is not part of a Disciple's path child, that much is true. But I intend you to be more than just another of my disciples…_Echoing, grim laughter rang through Sasuke's mind. For a moment he wondered if he had gone too far, but then his eyes shifted into the Hone Sharingan, and a mad cackle slipped from his lips.

"Noo, noo, just enough, just enough…with this, I will be able to kill _him_…" He pulled the blade closer to his arm and resumed carving into his own flesh, following the pattern that the blood-thirsty deity had laid out for him. Whimpers of pain mixed in with the evil laughter, the dark and tortured sounds filling the near-empty complex deep into the night.

_**AN:  
And..end. I'm back ladies and gents, by popular demand. I apologize for the horrendous delay in getting this chapter out, but I was having a nigh-on impossible time finding my muse and getting an idea from her. But with this, I'm getting back into the swing of things so the next chapter shouldn't be quite as long a wait. I'm sorry to the people who reviewed that I didn't respond to in PMs, but it has been so long that I honestly can't remember who I have messaged and who I haven't. And ther is one anonymous review that I feel I have to respond to here.  
To Anon:**_

_The part that you apparently take such offense to is not meaning what you think it means. The scent thing between Yugito and Naruto __**IS NOT**__ her instantly falling in love with him, and far from it! She is attracted to him, and her __**body**__ has accepted him as the perfect mate. Think of it as a chemical reaction, her body reacting to his. It is not her falling in love with him with one smell, and it is the reason that she is pissed at Nibi. Her body wants a kid! How the fuck is she supposed to respond to that? With confusion and frustration, which is what she's feeling. _

_**To everyone else who reviewed, whether or not I already PM'd you:**_

_**Thank you all for the reviews, these help keep me on track with where this unwieldy beast is going. Keep up your end and I'll keep up mine! (I hope…)**_

_**G.T. Out!**_


	32. Chapter 31

_**Chapter 31: Finals Clash! **_

_**Disclaimer: Still don't own Naruto. Dammit.**_

**Central Stadium**

Silence reined over the stadium. Naruto glanced around, glad he had come so early in the morning, to see this place before the battles had begun, before all the people arrived. His crimson-streaked cerulean orbs turned to take in the field that he was standing in. A small smile had settled over the boy's face. The proctors had done their level best to make sure that there was no one at an advantage over someone else.

A thin stream wound through part of the field, hidden in a marshy section. The earth firmed up for a distance, simple grass and dirt, until it changed to a bare stretch of soil, dotted with decently sized boulders similar in shape to the ones that Kakashi has trained him with, if a fair bit smaller. Another expanse of normal soil separated the boulder field from a small sandy area, which was nearly side by side with a wooded area. The Jinchuruuki had the feeling that if he was to measure the surface area of the four regions – sand, marsh, soil and boulders, and the trees, they would come up nearly equal, in balance.

There were seals ringing the top of the stadium walls that were between the field and the seats. The fledgling Seals wielder had inspected these with a curious eye – they were in advance of nearly everything he knew save for the Spirit Suppression seal that he had used on the spirit with Gaara, and the Demon Binding seal that he had learned from Ronnel. Curious, he sent a burst of wind towards the seats passing over the seals, and nodded in satisfaction as the wind was negated by some unseen wall of force.

"Oi kid, what are you doing here? Eh, Naruto?" The blonde turned around to see one of the Eternal Chuunin staring at him with curiosity in his gaze.

"Sorry sorry, figured it would be a good idea to see what this place is like before we destroy it… how often do they make this place? Seems…kind of impressive…" The Chuunin chuckled at the Gennin's estimation and looked around.

"It is, isn't it? Yeah, this stadium is in a state of dismantlement well over ninety percent of the time. The only time this thing isn't a shell of itself is now, when we host the Exams. That's when we make this place into what it is now, trying to take into account all of the people who are going to be fighting. Now go on, this place is off limits until the Exams actually begin, we can't have one of you setting up traps ahead of your match." The guard made shooing motions, which Naruto readily acquiesced to.

Once outside the stadium walls, Naruto leaned back and looked up at the sky. The dawn was just barely reaching out, fingers of red and gold streaking out through the clouds making for a peaceful, powerful look in the boy's opinion.

_Ne, Kyuu-sensei.._

_**Eh? What's up kit?**_

_Why has no one ever tried capturing the power of the sun? There was a barking laugh from the immensely powerful demon that had been bound within the boy, making his eyebrows twitch before he heard the answer._

_**Because there is no one who has that kind of strength. Sure, maybe there are techniques to borrow the power of the sun, or a portion of it, but Amaterasu, the true Amaterasu and not the black fire technique of the Mangekyou Sharingan, is far beyond what any human can wield without aid of something incredible. In all my years of life, I have never heard of someone trying to harness the sun's strength. Why?**_

_Look through my eyes Kyuu. I don't necessarily mean the destructive power of the sun – look at the beauty in that sunrise…if we could share that beauty with everyone…_

_**There are those who can look at that and not see something beautiful. Not all have the tastes that you do.**_ Naruto smiled gently before nodding and looking to the side. The comment that the Kyuubi had said had given him an idea for a new Fuuton technique, one that would be a deadly fire attack even though it was truly a Wind ability. He wouldn't have this ready any time soon, but it was something to look forward to in the future. The blue eyed Demon Container shook himself from his musing as he grinned.

"Eh, I have time enough for food before the exams!" With that, he took off for his favorite stand within the village.

**The Apartments**

Ronnel woke up slowly, to a lack of feeling in his left arm and leg. He didn't panic though – it was a sensation that he had happily become used to in the past few weeks since Anko had started sharing his room. He nudged her gently with his shoulder, a smile on his face lips.

"Whuzzat?" Her hair fell around her face. These early mornings were the only times when she didn't have her hair bound up.

"It's time Anko-hime. For better or worse, things are coming to a head today. The future is spread out before us, it's time for us to choose the path the world will go down." She stared at him blearily. A chuckle escaped the sword wielder. "Not awake yet. Ko-hime, it's the day of the Finals. And from the position of the light of the sun on the wall, it's already almost time for them to begin. While Naruto isn't the first match, we do want to see the others right?" His purple haired goddess finally snapped awake and busied herself with getting ready, leaving his side. Blood flow returning to his arm and leg, the dark haired Jounin clenched his muscles to hasten the departure of the pins and needles sensation.

"Ron-kun, what are you waiting for? We've gotta get to the stadium!" The loyal Snake Summoner was bouncing on her feet as Ronnel pulled his day clothes on and picked up his equipment. As the two left the building, he made sure to seal the house up tight behind him – they were the last to leave.

Periodically as they went down the street, there was a slight hesitation in the shinobi's steps. Anko didn't mention it, knowing full well what he was doing. He hadn't explained yet how he was doing it, but he had demonstrated it for her once since his battle against Orochimaru.

"It's done. They're spread out, taking up their positions. Come on." He gripped her hand, picking her up into a bridal carry. "Shunpo." A burst of speed, and the pair vanished from the road they were walking on**.**

**Kage's Box**

"Sensei."

"Jiraiya-kun. Why didn't you show up earlier? I know Naruto-kun was looking forward to learning more seals…"

"Wish I could have. Akatsuki was stirring and I had to check on what was going on. We need to talk later." The two older shinobi were forced to quiet down from that line of conversation as the 'Kazekage' arrived. Both men knew who was truly behind that face, but it was not yet time for them to move.

_Che, the old fool has managed to bring the idiot in. No matter, the Edo Tensei will be enough to occupy him_. "Ah, Hokage-sama, Jiraiya-san, a pleasure to see you two today." Orochimaru had no inkling that his plan had been spoiled, that the duo beside him knew who he was. He kept the pretense up well, inflecting the mannerisms of the deceased Kage well enough to fool even the man's own wife and children – or so he thought. Kukukuku. This will be the last day of Konohagakure. Good riddance. He settled into the seat beside Sarutobi, unaware of the tightening of that man's muscles as his treacherous student came so close. The Snake Sannin stiffened when his former sensei suddenly stood up and moved to the front of the box. A seal began glowing as Sarutobi laid his hands on it.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Today is an auspicious day, full of promise for the future! Today, the next generation will take up arms against each other, to show their skills. Konoha's resident seal master has worked closely with a genjutsu team to set up a special surprise that I am now revealing. At the start of each fight, you will hear music begin playing. This in no way affects you, and if you wish to you may break yourselves free simply by tapping the top of the back of your seats. The music is simply for ambiance, to enhance the fights. Listening or not is up to you. Now I turn it over to the proctor for this stage – a man who a few of our older shinobi will recognize, someone who has gained special permission to be here for this and has come out of retirement for this day. In his words, he 'couldn't bear to see anyone else be the brat's final proctor'. If anyone," the word received special stress, "attacks the proctor, they will start an international incident that no one wants." He returned to his seat, smiling and nodding to the two people in the stands next to him. As the old Monkey Summoner sat down, two large men entered the box.

"Ah, Raikage-san, I'm glad you made it before the fights started!"

"Wouldn't have missed it old monkey. My little sister is in this thing, and I can't go letting her get tested like this without bearing witness myself." Inwardly, Sarutobi was cursing to himself. The Raikage and his brother were wildcards in this equation, ones that had somehow been neglected during the planning. They had no time to pull him as-Sarutobi's eyes widened when the man wearing eight swords twisted his fingers to form an 'I', the symbol that a few shinobi and kunoichi had started to use to represent the Leaf's and Sand's counter-invasion plan. When he winked towards Jiraiya, a few things cleared up for the old man, and he nodded slightly.

**Stadium Floor**

Mist cloaked the stadium floor, obscuring it from sight. Four people in the stands blinked in shock at this, while a few others narrowed their eyes, now understanding the warning against attacking the proctor. Hidden in the wings, a medic grinned with joy. From above where the Kage's Box was, a flash of steel spun into the center of the mist. That action seemed to be a cue – the mist began fading away slowly.

In the exact center of the field was the true Kubikiri Houcho. Somehow, it had landed perfectly perpendicular to the ground around it, jutting straight upwards into the sky. Standing on the end of the hilt was a darkly clad shinobi with bandages wrapped around his face, leaving only his dark eyes showing. One hand was tensed at the man's side, the second...wasn't there.

"Alright you brats. I am Momochi Zabuza, proctor for the final exam. For this portion, my word is god. There is are two rules for this part of the exam. First, if I say the fight is over and you keep going, I will kill you myself. I have been authorized to do so by the Kages – they were disgusted by the actions of the brat who tried taking my name in the fight portion of the Second Exam, and have decided that such actions are not permissible. I will not give second warnings – if I say stop and you don't, my Kubikiri Houcho will live up to its name. The second rule is this: Do no mess with my sword. It will remain here, in this spot, to indicate where the center of field. Now then. Sabaku no Gaara and Higarachi Tenten, get on down here for your fight!"

Tenten came down, a mess of nerves. She had been in the stadium for Gaara's fight, and had seen his sand defense, and knew that she didn't have much of a chance with her normal tactics. She stood in front of Zabuza, near his blade, the second cause of her nerves. One of the legendary blades of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist was here, and she had just been told not to touch it.

Then she focused. Getting past that sand shield would be nearly impossible for her with her weapons. With her heavy focus on weapons and lack of Ninjutsu knowledge, such a fight would have been absolutely impossible – if she had trained like Gai wanted her to. She simply wasn't a taijutsu person, so instead had gone to the person that Gai had ended up setting her up with for learning her elemental skills. Now, she at least had a chance of beating him.

Gaara meanwhile was bored as he drifted down in front of Zabuza. His training had simply been practicing with some tactics of what to do if he couldn't use his sand – the sand itself was a perfect defense against nearly everything, but there were a few techniques that could disable it. So he had learned some taijutsu, and one Suiton Ninjutsu just in case. Though it had surprised Baki when they found out that was his element.

The one armed man looked back and forth between the two contestants, then nodded slowly. The bandages stretched, giving the impression of a feral grin beneath that mask.

"Alright then, assuming that the pair of you are ready, get your asses into gear and go!" One leg tensed as Zabuza backflipped off of the hilt of Kubikiri, landing on the edge of a wall. He was still inside the ring of seals that formed the protective barrier, and was standing precisely on the edge only through an application of chakra to his feet.

In the field, the two combatants had immediately jumped apart. Well, Tenten had jumped backwards, leaving Gaara where he was. She tested her kunai against his barrier anyway, just to see what would happen. When the wall of sand came up, she grinned as her plan solidified in her mind. Behind it though, the sand wielder was bored. He decided that he would get the fight over with quickly, to conserve his strength for the Invasion. Sand began pooling around his feet, gathering together from his giant gourd. The boredom on his face lessened and gained a trace of irritation when Tenten pulled out one of her summoning scrolls and slid her hand across it, unleashing a torrent of metal weapons at him.

When the sand shield came back up, the Weapons Mistress immediately began charging through hand seals for the technique that she had spent a month learning. This was going to be an all or nothing attempt – against that impenetrable shield, her normal tactics would never work.

"Mud Flow River." She spoke the words softly before her throat bulged. She hated this part, she really did. Then she began spewing mud from her mouth, creating a swirl of wet soil that shot across the gap between them towards the Sand shinobi. She hoped that she had timed the technique right.

Gaara's protective wall of sand fell away in time for him to see the mud reach him. He was caught off guard by the attack – he hadn't heard her shout her technique's name out as most shinobi did, which spoke of high control on her part. Then he cursed himself. His opponent had gotten incredibly lucky here, as his own preparation to attack had actually helped her. The mud swirled around his feet, sending him sliding backwards. That wasn't the problem though – her mud had gotten mixed in with his sand, the liquid earth robbing him of a large part of his sand stock.

The Sand ninja's eyes narrowed dangerously. He was now officially irritated by this fight. He brought one of his arms up, mentally focusing the sand around him that wasn't affected by the mud into three spears of the gritty material. Tenten barely had time to 'eep' before one of those spears shot out at her impossibly fast. Only her months of training with the speed and stamina freak duo that was her teammate and sensei allowed her to dodge the attack.

That did not mean that she was prepared for when the sand suddenly shot sideways beside her and wrapped around her arm. The added weight slowed her down enough that the second and third spears were able to catch her. Surprisingly, none of the spears actually hurt her – they just wrapped around her, sand forming into bands around her hips, the middle of her torso, and of course, her right arm where the first one had managed to catch her.

Traces of the sand from the three bands slid down to the ground underneath her, forming a small disc that picked her up and carried her towards Gaara. When she was close to him, the sand around her twisted, the sand on her hips sliding down and binding her feet together, while the sand on her right arm was split in half, with one half sliding over to her other arm. In short order, her hands were bound behind her back. The stone faced shinobi brought one of his hands up, light brown flecks forming around it to create a long claw. He pressed it against her throat while looking up to Zabuza, who was watching impassively.

The one-armed Jounin nodded once.

"The winner of the first fight is Sabaku no Gaara. Let the girl go." The sand around her limbs flowed across her body, heading towards the point where his sand claw was pressing against her skin. Her eyes widened in shock when sand slid under her shirt from her legs, and cupped her breasts and squeezed before sliding up and out. Feeling scared and shocked, she looked up at Gaara, and nearly passed out at the smirk/glare on the shinobi's face, as if he was daring her to do something. Finally though the sand was all gone, and she stumbled backwards quickly, before turning and sprinting through the exit, heading for the shower rooms.

The redhaired Jinchuruuki merely watched her go, one corner of his mouth turned up slightly with amusement. Then he bowed to Zabuza, who had returned to standing on his sword, and returned to the stands, to rest beside Naruto.

The blonde haired male Jinchuruuki barely had time to grin at his friend before it was time for him to come down. Zabuza was pointing at the ground in front of himself, his dark eyes locked onto the cerulean and crimson ones. Naruto grinned before leaping up onto the low wall, where the seals were. He nearly smacked into the barrier before remembering that it was there, then sheepishly rubbed his head before sprinting down the stairs. By the time he got down to where Zabuza was, Dosu was already there, cracking his neck with anticipation.

"Alright for this fight, only the first rule is in effect – when I say stop, stop or die. Hajime!" Zabuza shimmered back to his spot on the wall, watching the fight. He knew that this one would be completely one-sided and ridiculously short, unless Naruto decided to toy with his victim. Which, with the war coming, he was unlikely to do.

Naruto pushed his hat back slightly, to where he could see Dosu easily. His opponent swung his hand up and pointed at his blonde haired opponent, who raised one eyebrow curiously.

"You're going down whiskers! Otokage-dono has given the word that you must die!" The Sound shinobi snapped his fingers. Before Naruto could wonder why the hell he did that, a loud ringing hit his overly sensitive ears, sending him reeling from pain. The Jinchuruuki clapped both hands to his ears, his eyes tearing up. That had been completely unexpected, and was unknown. Now Naruto regretted not staying to watch this guy's fight, then he would have had some idea of how he was doing this.

A second snap sent him staggering back again, barely able to see the triumphant gleam in Dosu's eyes. He had to figure this out now before Dosu incapacitated him like this. Naruto brought one hand away from his ears and crafted a solid wall out of his wind chakra, hoping that the invisible defense would stop whatever the Sound shinobi was using. When another snap sent him down to his knees, he knew that hadn't worked.

_Think you stupid shinobi! You're __**not **__this weak or this stupid! How is he attacking what vector is he coming in from? Obviously it- wait. The wind…those gauntlets?_ Redstreaked blue orbs came up to look at the foe. The snapping fingers were a distraction. In Dosu's other hand was a senbon needle, resting in the air just slightly away from gleaming metal that was wrapped around his arms. When Dosu snapped again, Naruto realized that the snap really was a distraction – as he snapped, the senbon struck the metal. Recovering from this fourth assault, Naruto had it figured out.

Now he knew why the solid wall of wind hadn't worked. All that had done was actually make it easier for the soundwaves from Dosu's arm to reach him. He had to go the reverse route –the same trick that his brother had come up with for fighting fire users. Naruto's hands slid through an intricate chain of seals impossibly fast, thanking Ronnel's obsession with making sure he had the different seals memorized. Just before the Oto-nin could use that damn ringing attack again, Naruto finished the chain and thrust both hands outwards.

The technique snapped into place. Two impossibly thin layers of wind chakra sprang up around Dosu, one just inside the other. But what the foreign shinobi couldn't see was that in the space between the two layers of swirling wind was a vacuum, an absence of wind. The two moving layers of air were actively pulling away from each other while staying in the same spot, and thus each one was pulling away from the air in between them. The vacuum wasn't perfect - Naruto's chakra control wasn't high enough for that - but it was strong enough to mute the attack that he was using against the blond haired preteen.

So when the Jinchuruuki began grinning and pushed himself up from his knees, the Sound ninja was understandably confused. That confusion shifted into fear when the inner layer of swirling wind that he could see suddenly began sparking with electricity. His eyes flew to where his opponent was standing, now wearing a grin that reminded the Gennin of a demented fox. He brought his hand up, his mind processing what it was terrified to.

"It was you that attacked us when I was delivering Otokage-dono's words!" Naruto merely nodded once, not able to hear him but able to read his lips. Then the Demon Container brought his right hand up, open and palm up. And closed it - and as his hand closed, the two layers of wind shrank in. There was no problem, at least there was no problem until the inner layer finally touched Dosu. Then the electricity that was coursing through the wind jumped into the boy's body. And it didn't stop at one shock - Naruto kept pumping chakra into the electricity as he continued to shrink the domes of wind, until every inch of the foreigner's body was being touched by the electricity coated layer of wind

"ENOUGH!" Zabuza landed beside Naruto, his hand grasping the boy's shoulder. By the time he had landed though, the blond haired boy had already canceled his technique. Dosu teetered on his feet for a moment before collapsing to the ground, his skin burnt and his nerves ruined. The conscious Gennin turned one eye to the proctor, who nodded once and rolled his own eyes.

"Winner, Uzumaki Naruto. Medics are needed on the field." Naruto rubbed the back of his head and went back to the stand and leaned against the wall. For some reason, the medics were doing their business in the middle of the arena, which meant the next fight was delayed while they tried to heal the Oto-nin. The blue-eyed Jinchuruuki shrugged slightly and settled in to wait for the next match, and idly wondered when the invasion would start. It had supposedly been set to start when either Sasuke or Gaara's match had occurred, but the one was no longer even in the Exams, and the other had already finished his fight.

_**Despicable Author Style: Scene Change (This is occurring at the same time as the two fights.)**_

**Stadium Seats**

Anko grumbled as she sank down into her seat as Zabuza showed up and began calling the first fighters down. Ronnel had given her a kiss on her cheek and slid off somewhere before the matches even began, and she had followed him with her eyes until she saw him pop up in the Kage's Box near the three Kages and the other two escorts. He made a show of reporting something to the Hokage, then apparently didn't leave, as if he was a messenger who currently had no message. She was of course nervous – she, like most of the other higher rank shinobi, knew exactly who was under the skin of the Kazekage, and the fact that her boyfriend was so close to him again was sending her worry into overdrive.

Thus when she saw someone staring towards Ronnel from the other side of the stands, she was concerned. The person vanished before she could look too closely, but she was able to tell that it was someone who had purple hair like her own, but there was also heavy streaks of black throughout it, highlighting and offsetting it. The loyal Snake Summoner hadn't seen any sign of an Oto hitai-ate, but with the fact that the invasion was coming on, there were good odds that there would be unannounced guests from that village. She shook her head and settled down to watch the fights, her gaze returning to the arena floor in time to see the stream of mud spew from Tenten's mouth and rush towards Gaara.

**Kage's Box**

Ronnel mounted the steps into the Kage's box slowly, trying to force himself to be calm right now. He knelt beside Sarutobi's seat and turned his gaze outwards, speaking through the side of his mouth to the old Hokage.

"Lord Hokage, everything is ready for our guests. The feast is ready and the pigs are waiting for the slaughter." From the look of annoyance that flitted across the false Kazekage's face, reports on the status of an after-Exam feast were not at all entertaining to the man. But that was fine – the words were actually code to let Sarutobi know that the civilians were all out of the way of danger and that the ninja forces had taken their place. Everything was ready for the Invasion to begin, and the trap to be sprung.

Inwardly, Orochimaru was seething. He recognized the Jounin who had just arrived – the man that he had underestimated and had been wounded by. He marked the boy down as the first of his victims when the Invasion began. He glanced over to one of his guards standing just outside the box as Naruto's fight began – the next fight, however it ended, would be the signal that began the attack. He slowly began preparing himself, fully expectant that the fight after the blonde Jinchuruuki's would take long enough for his forces to begin. When the cloaked 'Suna'-shinobi bowed and headed away, Ronnel stood up and trailed out of the box. He had spotted the discreet motion, and rightly surmised that the fight would begin soon.

Because he left without looking back, he missed the look of burning hatred that the 'Kazekage' shot at his back. However, the Raikage's escort did not miss the look, and after a quick word to his Kage, followed the brown haired Leaf-ninja.

_**Despicable Author Style: Technique Release!**_

**Stadium Floor**

Zabuza watched with mild irritation as the medics finally patched the Otogakure shinobi enough to get him out of the way. He shook his head – that injury hadn't been that severe, he had stopped Naruto from holding the electrocution technique on the boy for too long. But he wasn't stupid enough to try telling the medics how to do their job. Instead he took a deep breath and called for the next combatants.

"Inuzuka Kiba and Rock Lee, get down here!" He did not know what to expect from this fight. The Inuzuka boy was a strong contender for the rank of Chuunin, he knew that much from what intel he had been given. But the other boy was dangerous – he had killed in the preliminaries, even if he apparently did not mean too. Idly the former Kirigakure shinobi wondered if he would be able to react in time to save the bonded duo if things went that far.

As he came down the stairs, Kiba chewed on his lower lip nervously. Lee's fight had been short and brutal, and the only one that ended in a death. While he was confident in his own skills, he wasn't sure that he wanted to die just yet. Luckily though, Kurenai had done her best to help him prepare for this fight. The feralisitic boy just hoped that it was enough.

His opponent was a completely different person than what he had been the last time he was seen in public. While he still looked the same physically, his demeanor had suffered a complete one-eighty. Gone were the cheers of youth and the flamboyant confidence. Lee seemed almost reticent or afraid now, though what he was scared of Kiba couldn't tell.

"Are you two ready to fight?" Kiba and Akamaru nodded quickly, the small canine leaping out of his bonded partner's hood to take up a fighting stance beside him. Lee nodded slightly, once again giving the impression that he was shy. Zabuza frowned slightly at this – this wasn't the attitude of someone coming to fight, from what he was seeing Lee was more likely to run away. Still, there was nothing he could do about that now, he just had to hope that the green-clad shinobi was one of those who was one way out of combat, and a terror once the fighting started. The shinobi leapt back to his perch on the wall to watch the fight begin, crying out as he did so.

"Alright then. Hajime!" As soon as Zabuza had left the field, Kiba tossed Akamaru the small red pill that was easily recognized by anyone who had watched his first fight. The canina bit down on it and began growling as the overloaded chakra pill sent energy flowing through him, changing the color of his fur and making him swell in size. He was going all out from the beginning for this fight.  
The animal and human duo rushed at Lee, who merely swayed back and forth on his feet slightly as they approached. When their attacks neared him – outstretched claws aimed at his chest from Kiba, and a lunging bite directed at his leg from Akamaru, the Taijutsu-oriented Gennin weaved back and forth a few steps before contorting his body into an 'S' shape that avoided both attacks. Despite how easy it would have been for him to counter attack, Le just lunged away from the duo instead of returning either strike.

Kiba and Akamaru skittered to a stop and looked at each other incredulously before the boy growled in anger. While he didn't want to be hurt, he didn't want to be coddled either. He nodded to his partner then began channeling chakra through his body. The red-furred canine crouched down as more chakra swept through him as well, matching the currents in his human partner.

"Fang Over Fang!" The Dog-Bonded Gennin leapt at Lee, twisting his body into a violent twister as he led with his claws. The twister of claws and chakra spread out to the extent of his arms at its widest point as he hurtled towards his target. Less than a pace behind him was Akamaru, who was spinning in a near identical twister, though his was spinning in a reverse orientation of Kiba's.

There was no life in Lee's eyes as he darted to the left, easily dodging both attacks. He simply stood there, his arms swaying back and forth at his sides as he turned blank, dull eyes towards them. When Kiba and Akamaru landed and realized that neither one had managed to get a single cut on the Gennin who was facing them, anger swept through their bodies.

**Stands**

Tenten bit her lip nervously before looking over at her sensei. The dead expression was one that Lee had worn since the day of the Preliminaries, and nothing they had done had had any effect on him. Gai just nodded to her slowly as he watched Lee dodge the first and second attacks of his opponents. He wasn't going to attack – that was something that they had found out in the last month. No matter how far they went, no matter what tactic they used on him, it always ended up the same.

Lee would dodge every attack he could, block what he couldn't dodge, and those few attacks that he couldn't block or dodge, he would just suffer silently. The boy hadn't spoken since that day, nor had he retaliated even once. He was a mute fighter right now, and had been since he killed the Oto-nin. They had hoped that getting him in the fight now would bring back some of his life, but it seemed that even that was a futile hope. Gai was standing up to call off the fight for his student when he heard Kiba shouting at his green-clad minime.

**Arena Floor**

"What the fuck is wrong with you!" Kiba spat this directly into Lee's face. He had approached the other Gennin, only to be completely ignored. "So you killed a guy, big fucking whoop!" He smacked Lee across the face – something that startled everyone watching, who had all thought that Lee would lean out of the way again. Instead, the boy's eyes had locked on to Kiba's face at his words.

"Dipshit, we are shinobi! Each and every last one of us goes through our missions knowing that today might be the day we die! Whether it's from the opponent we knew was coming, or from unforeseen complications, we live each day taking our lives into our own hands and facing tomorrow with our pack beside us, come whatever the fuck may come! So what that some prick died – you didn't even know him! And besides, this is the Chuunin Exams Lee, it was either him or you – and I can tell you right now, no one is missing that guy! His Kage didn't even have the balls to show up to this fight, to see the person who had killed one of his own shinobi. But you, you have people here who are rooting for you, and you're fucking insulting them by acting like a Kami-damned doll!" He punched at Lee's gut, only to have the boy spring backwards in a backflip.

Lee rested on his knees for a long moment, staring at the ground in front of him. He was turning over what Kiba had said in his mind. Similar words had been given to him by his sensei and teammate Tenten, but he had tossed their words aside as them just trying to cheer him up. But here was another shinobi, one who he barely knew, who was smacking him in the face with his own cowardice, and calling him out on it, which is something that the others hadn't done. He turned his head towards the stands, to where Gai and Tenten were. They couldn't hear what Kiba had said, but he wasn't looking for confirmation of the boy's words there in their eyes.

What he was looking for, what he saw, was that they were still supporting them. He had been so shell shocked that he had locked himself away, that he hadn't let himself see that despite the fact that he had killed someone, that they still supported him. He realized then that Gai was a Master Taijutsuist, and had undoubtedly killed people before, yet he was still there, still as bright and cheerful as he ever was. The black-haired Gennin pushed himself to his feet, life returning to his eyes.

"YOSH!" That one word was the cry that his squad had been waiting to hear for a month. Lee leaned down and unbuckled the weights on his legs, fully intending to stop holding back against Kiba. The other boy simply bared his teeth in a grin as he settled himself in a combative stance – now the fight would truly begin, now things were going to get interesting!

Of course, the earth shaking crash that ripped through the arena, and the tremendous plume of smoke that could be seen rising from the main village gates, completely threw the fight off track.

_**And End!**_

_**Hello all. Hope you weren't getting toooooo angry at me for taking so long. I know I said I wouldn't be able to post this up for a few days, but I found a way around the fact that gen access comps wouldn't let me save. So here you go – the end of the Chuunin Exams, and the beginning of the Invasion! And yes, I know that not everyone got a match – and that Naruto's was ridiculously short – but don't worry. The Invasion is going to pit them up against Otogakure shinobi….including the Sound Four. SO stay tuned, because I-Day is here at last!**_


	33. Chapter 32

_**Chapter 32:**_

_**Betrayal at the Gates, INVASION!**_

_**Konoha Rooftops, before the explosion**_

Ronnel flipped across the rooftops, following after the cloaked Suna-shinobi who had left the Kage's box after talking to the disguised Orochimaru. The man was headed in the direction of the main gates, and the sword-wielding Jounin was curious as to why Orochimaru would send someone there instead of having backup against the Sandaime and the Sannin Jiraiya. Either the traitor was certain of his disguise and thought it had fully fooled his former teammate and sensei, or something at this gate was vitally important to the imposter Kazekage. If it was the former, then he was in for a rude awakening, and the latter... well, anything important to the traitor was going to be important to the Alliance forces, to deprive him of it.

It was only his long experience that kept him from losing his head when the shinobi he was chasing suddenly launched a blade of white chakra in his direction without even looking. The Konoha Jounin dropped to the roof, rolling underneath the blast that would have caught him square in the chest, and when he came back to his feet the figure he had been chasing was nowhere to be seen. He cursed his luck and was heading to the edge of the roof that he had been caught on when a flicker from the corner of his eye made him throw himself backwards. Another blast of white chakra ripped through the air where he had been, making the Jounin frown as he faced his foe.

"How on earth do you have the Howaito Chakra?" The figure in Suna gear merely stared impassively at Ronnel, then raised a thin blade. This time Ronnel saw the blast before it forme, and he started running at the enemy, twisting his body to the side in order to avoid the thin line of chakra, then w-

The white chakra arc somehow warped in midair, turning on the space of a yen to catch Ronnel in his side. His trench coat and armor kept him from being cleaved in half, but the blow was still painful enough. He flipped out his swords – not the Kusanagi, but his longsword and claymore, and pointed the heavier blade at the sword wielder.

"Does Orochimaru know you're starting the attack without his consent?" This time he got a response from the shinobi – a dry, metallic chuckle that sounded like it came through a respirator.

"Fool. Orochimaru-dono wants you dead. Though I am curious as to how you know of him, and the attack. No matter, I will just give the signal to begin the invasion early, then eliminate you... if it hasn't started already." He raised his blade to the sky and began channeling white chakra through it.

Getting the Suna-nin – who was apparently an imposter, just as the 'Kazekage' was – to speak had reassured Ronnel of something. Despite the bloodline necessary to use it, he wasn't facing Kakashi. And it was impossible to be facing the Cyclops' father, which meant... No time for that, he had to stop this early signal. He grimaced and pointed his claymore at the upraised blade and muttered something so softly that the other nin couldn't have heard it.

"_Kuikorotte._" A blast of white chakra jumped skywards from the Otogakure ninja's sword – only to suddenly whip around and streak towards Ronnel's sword. The chakra vanished into Ronnel's blade without damaging it, and the foreigner glared at the Konoha Jounin.

"A blade based off of the Samehada. I am surprised that someone was able to duplicate the effect." Ronnel merely pointed his sword at the man, who was caught completely offguard when the blast of chakra that he had just tried using shot out of the tip of the sword at him.

"_Henkyaku._" The shinobi barely managed to roll out of the way of the attack. Then the fight kicked into high gear, with the white chakra user somehow skating along the ground on thin pads of white energy, while Ronnel shifted into a defensive stance, holding his longsword in a reverse grip and the claymore over his shoulder, turning so that he was profile to the attacking shinobi. The Otonin's blade trailed white chakra behind it as he swung at Ronnel's neck, only to have his blade deflected at the last moment by Ronnel twisting around and catching the sword on his claymore. The metal of the two swords screeched against each other before Ronnel used the length of his blade to shove the other man backwards, following it up with a lightning fast slice at the man's gut with his longsword.

The invader barely managed to dodge backwards, growling in frustration as he did so. "So it seems you wont' be a pushover. I'm glad Orochimaru-dono fou me someone who can make this fight entertaining. I'll enjoy filleting you and taking that sword from your corpse. Limit Release!" Chakra burst outwards from the man, shredding his cloak and mask, revealing a face that was scarred and twisted. The eyes were two separate colors – one was a pure, milky white, while the other was a disturbing shade of purple across the entire orb. His hair wasn't there for the most part, and portions of his head seemed to be distended.

"So I was right... you are one of the results of Roach-teme's experiments. You're probably the only one that survived from the batch too... sad." Despite his words there was no pity in Ronnel's voice. "And you are the reason people are saying that Konoha's White Fang now serves Otogakure – most people never knew Kakashi's old man, so how would they know he was dead – they just see white chakra, and bam, they jump to that conclusion." The foreigner just smiled at this – revealing a mouth that was full of rotted and misshapen teeth.

The rest of the shinobi's body wasn't as badly distorted as his head and face, but there were imperfections aplenty. It was obvious that his arms werent' biological – they had a metallic sheen to them, and when he brought one up in a motion, Ronnel realized that one edge of his arms were actually sharpened to fine enough points to be swords on their own. He was dealing with an abomination, Orochimaru had somehow grafted metal to this man, replacing his arms. He needed to put this thing, man, down quickly, as he didn't know what danger it could pose to the others in the village.

_Oh what I wouldn't give to have Lightning right now... Damn. I'd almost say Kakashi is the perfect foe for this guy, except seeing someone else use the White chakra would have seriously messed with his mind._ Ronnel braced his swords again as he got ready to attack. But before he could, the other man suddenly jumped out of the way, as a column of lightning erupted from the ground where he had been standing.

"Now that ain't cool, I was about to fry this fool!" Ronnel turned his head to where this voice had come from, to see a man bearing eight swords, dark glasses over his eyes – and the Kumo hitai-ate.

"Killer Bee. Perfect. With the two of us, this guy stands no chance.

"Nah nah yah, you need to get back and help take down a snake. I'll kill this guy for your sake." Ronnel's eye twitched – but no where near as much as the Otogakure shinobi's was. He suddenly unleashed a crescent of white chakra towards the talking duo, forcing both to roll out of the way.

"Fine, I'll leave him to you – but you better make sure not to die here, I'd rather not have to explain that to your Kage." The Kumo Shinobi waved one hand dismissively while he began pulling out swords, holding them in random places, until he resembled nothing so much as a porcupine to Ronnel. The Konoha shinobi shook his head and began heading back to the Kage's Box – only to freeze in midjump at something he saw in the air above the gate.

_**Despicable Author Style: Scene Change!**_

_**Konoha Stadium! (Post explosion)**_

As soon as the explosion erupted, several things happened in the stadium. Lee and Kiba immediately halted their fight- not that anyone would have even noticed if they had kept at it. Most of the audience were now kicking into gear on either Invasion or Counter-Invasion plans, depending on which side of the fight they paid allegiance to.

One of the most crucial things to occur was the task of the hidden ANBU members who were supposed to quickly and quietly strike down the known Otogakure shinobi and kunoichi, and those forces from Sunagakure who hadn't been pulled to Konoha's side yet; to keep the invading forces from causing too much chaos in the area. By and large the semi-preemptive strikes were successful – over seventy percent of the openly aligned ninja was taken out – the Otonin quite permanently, while the Sunanin were merely knocked out unless they fought too hard. However, chakra consuming seals were placed on all of them – no one knew just how far the rot of treachery had spread throughout the Sunagakure forces.

Part of the reason the immediate counterstrike was so successful was that it seemed someone had jumped the gun in launching the attack. When the attack began, even the Otogakure shinobi weren't expecting it – they were supposed to start attacking at the end of the fight, not squarely during it! Because of that, they were just as off-guard as the Konoha and loyal Suna-ninja, if not less so, as the Counter-Invasion forces didn't know when the attack would begin, and had to be ready for it to start at any time.

Despite the quick success that they were facing, battles did break out all across the stadium seating between the invaders and the defenders. Whole sections were lit up under gouts of flame, charred by columns of lightning that fell out of the clear sky, washed away by torrents of water, blown away by immensely powerful gusts of wind, or simply buried under landslides that appeared from nowhere. It seemed that no one here was holding back in their efforts to exterminate their enemies, and the landscape was definitely going to need to be fixed afterwards, if there was anyone left to fix it.

This destruction, ever-increasing, was what made Dolphin's earlier task so crucial. The ANBU leader – and his cadre of selected shinobi and kunoichi – were taking groups of 'civilians' out of the area, serving as small, calm pockets that seemed to naturally draw the attention of the invading forces. Several times it seemed like Otogakure ninja would reach them, but the open ninja forces would do their best to make sure that the cover of the hidden ninja wasn't blown.

One such group was being escorted by a genjutsuist. This man wasn't necessarily as skilled as the legendary Genjutsu Mistress, Kurenai, but he wasn't a slouch either. He proved it by placing one Otogakure shinobi into a genjutsu that made the man believe that his allies were a group of terrified Konoha Gennin who were trying to run away from him. While the enemies there were occupied, the group managed to slip away from them.

A few minutes later they were confronted by a large Otogakure shinobi wearing an outfit made of dark purple and red fabric. He didn't even react to the attempted genjutsu, expect to toss a contemptuous look in the direction of the genjutsuist. Then he licked his lips, bringing attention to the fact that they had been cut open and apart, away from his actual mouth, enough to fully show his teeth. Each tooth had had the gums scraped away to the root, and then stained with some dark substance. The Konoha chuunin gulped in terror.

"Sweet Kami, you're the Null..." The Otonin laughed once, a rotten, sickly sound.

"That I am. And you're the worst ninja to try defending these little worms from me. How does it feel to know that your pathetic little mind tricks have no chance of saving those under your care?" The hostile ninja pulled out an overly long kunai and licked it once before pointing it at the Konoha shinobi. The 'civilians' were cowering behind their ostensible defender, and one woman let out a terrified whimper at this action.

"Hmph." The genjutsuist placed a comforting hand on her shoulder before looking at the Null. "I may not be able to fight you with my preferred style..." He pulled out a pair of tonfa and settled into a defensive stance between the others and the Otogakure ninja. "But that doesn't mean I can't fight you." The large man began laughing at this, only to stop when the Konoha shinobi kept speaking. "Besides, I know something that you don't." The man's laughter cut at that as he stared along his long dagger at the Konoha group.

"Oh? And what's that?"

"I'm just the distraction."

"Wha-gurk!" The man bit off the end of his tongue as electricity began coursing through his body and lit it from within. He tried to struggle, but his assailant simply poured more lightning into his body via the metal shaft and blade shortspear that was plunged into his back. Moments passed, and eventually the Null stopped twitching, and moving, all together.

An ANBU member dressed in blue hues – Dolphin – pulled his shortspear from the Otoninja's back, letting the electrified carcass fall to the ground. After it had slumped over, the blade of the spear was thrust into the back of its head, ensuring that the shinobi would never rise again.

"Excellent work Oitari. These civilians are cleared for the Delta station – get them there and then return with the reinforcements." The clipped, efficient tone of the special ops nin was crisp and precise as he wiped his weapon clean of gore and slipped it back into his cloak, before vanishing.

Another group wasn't quite so luck. A pair of Gennin were escorting another group, only to be confronted by a trio of Otogakure shinobi, supported by a Suna kunoichi. They were falling back – they didn't know that their protectees were actually other shinobi and kunoichi, and thought that they had to buy the civilians enough time to run away.

One of the two defenders was cut down by a barrage of senbon and shuriken, and his teammate fell over the body – death hadn't been expected today, and he hadn't yet seen any of his friends die. This lead to him being completely defenseless as the Suna kunoichi lifted up her pair of combat fans, preparing to perform a coup de etat. Just as her blades swung down, a thin metal rod speared them both – senbon that knocked her attack off course entirely.

The three invaders looked in shock at the group of civilians that had somehow managed to surround them – and managed to get off one short scream as the group all launched precision jutsu into them, ripping the attackers apart.

"S-sensei... I failed him..." The living Gennin was crying, tears running down his face as he held his teammates body to his, having pulled the weapons clean of the flesh. His sensei wasn't one of the ninjaa around him, but those there did kneel down to try to support him – though two expedited this by grabbing both the grieving boy and his dead teammate, and lead the group away from the combat zone.

But of course, the biggest event was occurring in the Kage's box. The explosion was still ringing in the air when Jiraiya launched a kunai into the 'Kazekage's head. Said man didn't even react as the killing tool buried itself to the ring in the side of his head – then promptly collapsed into a pile of mud.

"Tsk tsk, attacking an ally for no reason at all? That isn't like you Jiraiya of the Sannin." Standing over by the wall now, the imposter Kazekage was shaking his finger. He was forced to dodge as a brace of shuriken ripped through the air where he had been standing, plowing straight through the wall.

"Drop the act Orochimaru." Sarutobi's voice had no trace of his age to it as he spat the words at his treacherous student. By now everyone in the room was standing, even the Raikage. The traitor Sannin chuckled darkly as he reached up and pulled away his veil, only to throw the group for a loop. The face that met them was that of a young woman, yet the eyes were mostly definitely those of the Snake Sannin, yellow and slitted.

"So, that's what happened to dear Kabuto. I had thought him dead in the Forest. Tell me, did you have dear Anko-chan tear the information from him? It doesn't matter in the end, no matter what preparations you might have had time to enact, this accursed village will fall today." As she spoke, Orochimaru was slowly approaching the edge of the balcony.

"Not quite. It seems she was busy with Ronnel, so we had to get Ibiki to take care of it." The name of the man who had taken his arm from him made the Otokage grasp his shoulder – the arm was still hanging limp at his side, whatever Ronnel had done to him hadn't healed. His yellow eyes blazed with rage as Jiraiya spoke.

"That _pest_ will be the first to die. He has no clue who he's up against. I only regret not being able to see his end myself." Her voice was full of venom. As she finished speaking, the current body of the former Konoha Sannin suddenly jumped onto the balcony wall, then up onto the roof, and started fleeing across the rooftops.

"What are you waiting for? Let's get after him!" This came from the Raikage – who promptly launched himself through the cloth roof of the balcony, and charged after Orochimaru. Both of the Konoha ninja gave chase, tearing after the others with all possible speed, leaving the Box deserted.

_**Rooftops**_

Orochimaru slid to a stop, looking at his pursuers, only to narrow his eyes when he realized that the Raikage was the first behind him.

"Do not concern yourself with this Ai-sama. This is between myself and the others of my former village. Kumo is not on my list."

"Not yet it ain't! I know what your kind is like snaky boy, greedy and selfish. You win here, you'll be looking to my village next, or maybe to Kusa, but you'll come for my people eventually. I am not some soft-hearted fool to leave you alive when there's a chance to take you down, especially if I have your former teacher and teammate as allies!" Ai whipped his hands through a chain of seals, then a spear of lightning leapt from his fingertips, crossing the gap between him and Orochimaru in only seconds, leaving the Sannin with a scorch along one side of his body as he had flung himself to the side, barely managing to dodge the electric blast. Sarutobi and Jiraiya caught up to the pair then, making the traitor grimace with distaste.

"These are not odds I like. Let's change that. _Edo Tensei!_" Coffins erupted from the rooftop – two at first, then a third started to rise. Each of the shinobi facing Orochimaru launched an attack at one of the coffins, not trusting whatever it was that the former Konoha ninja had up his sleeve. Ai sent an enormous ball of electricity at the coffin marked with a two, completely enveloping the box. Jiraiya focused on the first, covering it with oil, then pulling it into the stomach of a toad summon. Sarutobi encased the third in mud and stone – then crushed it.

The exchange happened in mere moments, but left Orochimaru drained. The Sannin stared at the spots where his coffins – his reinforcements – had been, then looked at the other three.

"Now that just isn't fair." The completely nonsensical statement threw everyone, including himself, for a loop. Orochimaru then had to start dodging for his life as a barrage of elemental techniques flew out him – then had to swap out with another mudclone as a swamp opened up underneath him, covering the rooftop that he was on.

_It's all his fault! If I had my other arm I could have completed the Edo Tensei before the summons were destroyed. Damn that Ronnel! Damn Kabuto for getting captured! "DAMN KONOHA!"_ His last thought was actually bellowed by the Sannin, as he bit open his thumb and swiped it down his arm – across a summoning tattoo. He leveled his arm at the shinobi attacking him, and a massive snake, easily ten feet in diameter, erupted from his palm. It slammed into Jiraiya, and the two disappeared over the edge of the roof.

It was then that Orochimaru's human reinforcements arrived. Four figures landed around the trio that was still on the roof, and in moments a purple barrier rose around the group, then another one appeared around the four, sandwiching them between the two walls, and trapping Orochimaru in the barrier with Sarutobi and Ai. The Sannin's face paled at that, and the two Kages had to laugh.

"What's the matter? Did your students perform too well? Now you know how I felt those years ago." Sarutobi crossed his arms and looked over to Ai. "Let's finish this disgrace Ai-sama. _Kuchiyose no Jutsu!_" Sarutobi flexed his arms as a figure coalesced next to him – a figure slightly taller than a man, with a tail in evidence.

"You summoned me now Saru? It had bett- Snake." The last word was pure hatred distilled. "Sarutobi. Are we finishing what we should have seven years ago?"

"Indeed we are Enma-dono. If you would be so kind?"

"With pleasure. _HENGE!_" The summoned monkey king transformed into a ten foot long pole of a silvery metal, which Sarutobi grasped familiarly, giving the weapon a few swings to re-accustom himself to the feel. Ai let out a whistle while Orochimaru was nipping a finger and then dragged the bloody digit down his neck. A puff appeared, and faded to reveal a gray snake. The snake let out a strange hiss and transformed into a slender dagger nearly a foot and a half long, which Orochimaru grasped.

"That isn't your Kusanagi, now is it? Such a shame, Ronnel-kun is loving his newest sword." Orochimaru himself let out a dark hiss as Sarutobi taunted him. Ai burst out laughing.

"Wait, what's that? One of your ninja managed to steal the Snake Sannin's sword? Is he also the reason the bastard can't use that arm?"

"Indeed his is Ai-sama. If he was a bit more skilled himself, I might say that Ronnel is easily any of the Sannin's equal – though he refuses to accept such an accolade." Orochimaru let out a wordless cry of rage and charge at the talking Kages, striking for Sarutobi with an insanely fast attack. The Hokage's weapon preternaturally reacted and deflected the dagger, then a voice rang out.

"Stop joking around you two fools! This man was a candidate for Hokage! And that blade has a vicious poison!" The two Kages calmed down, as Ai's body started crackling with lightning, slowly spreading from his waist to encase his entire body. As Orochimaru recovered from the offbalancing that his strike's deflection caused, he was faced with two expressions that might as well have been carved from steel.

_**Stadium Floor (Post Explosion)**_

Kiba and Lee were part of the defensive forces – part of the rather large group that reached the rooftops moments after the purple barrier appeared on the rooftop, surrounding their Kage. Several other shinobi and kunoichi who were supposed to be in the tournament were also there – including Naruto. The blonde-haired Jinchuruuki strode around the barrier, taking time to look at each of those inside the outer wall. The four Otonin stared impassively back at him, not even racting as he created a clone and had it tap the barrier – only to be flung backwarsdbefore popping into a cloud of smoke. The teen frowned at that.

"This is pretty high-tier stuff. But a barrier like this would need constant chakra input – which means that it can only last as long as your weakest link can. Which of you will be the first to fall?" He was standing in front of the four-armed man when he said this, and watching this shinobi's eyes intently. So he caught the slight flicker to the side – towards the plump man with dark skin. Naruto grinned viciously. "Thanks."

He strode over to the fat shinobi and stared at him through the barrier.

"You saw that right? Your friend over there thinks that you're the weak link. That you'll be the first to break." Kiba and Lee – and most of the Konoha shinobi who hadn't dealt with Naruto since his return with Ronnel – stared at the boy incredulously. If they hadn't seen already the changes that had been wrought in the formerly dumb boy, they wouldn't have believed that this was the same b oy. As it was they still struggled to do so – because he had never been so cruel as this, taunting a foe like this. The cerulean eyed boy turned around and winked at his comrades before turning back to the Otogakure ninja, his eyes narrowing as he did so.

"So how does it feel to know that? To know that a friend thinks you are pathetic?" The man he was taunting just laughed.

"You'll need to do a lot better than that tree-hugger. We all hate each other, so it doesn't surprise me that he thinks I'm weak. But we all know something that you don't." Naruto raised one blonde eyebrow at this. "This isn't our final forms. We can get a lot stronger by calling upon the demonic chakra that our master has given to us. Even now it is the source of our strength, and it will let us outlast any of you little wimps."

"Great, Demon chakra? We don't have a demon on tap dammit!" This came from Kiba, who threw his hands up in the air. "Now how are we going to get through to them? DAMN!" The feral teen picked up a shingle from the roof and hurled it discus style at the barrier, and didn't blink when it shattered upon impact, just let out a frustrated growl. More and more Konoha ninja were arriving at the barrier – or Suna nin, in the case of the Suna Siblings. Gaara looked at Naruto who was studying the barrier and tried sending a spear of his sand at it – only ot have the sand completely fall apart, losing his control over it entirely. He frowned at that, then sent sand over to recover what had just been lost, taking care not to touch the barrier or touch the sand that was actually in contact with the barrier. Naruto noted that absently, then grinned evilly, Gaara's arrival reminding of something. He looked back at the ninja he had been taunting.

"Demon chakra, really?"

"SHUT UP FATASS. NOT ANOTHER WORD!" This shout came from the opposite side of the barrier, where a redheaded girl was standing. Naruto's grin deepened.

"Gaara, you're going to want to get far away from me about now. I mean it. You too Yugito." The mentioned ninja both looked at the boy, then backed away quickly. If the most inventive and crazy shinobi you knew told you to back up, you got the makai out of there. Of course, so did everyone else, not trusting whatever it was that Naruto had come up with.

Seeing all of the others who had been pressing in suddenly clear out made the foru inside the barrier who could see out of it very, very nervous. If one or two had trickled away they might not have cared, but when over fifteen shinobi and kunoichi suddenly ran for the hills, concern was due. Only Jirobu could actually see what Naruto was doing though – sketching a seal on the ground. He frowned at it.

"Little markings won't beat us you fool! We're the Sound Four, Orochimaru-dono's elite!" Naruto waved him off, not even looking up at him.

"Wish the others hadn't cleared off, I'll need their help... unless just a temporary disruption will be enough to kill this, which, with the power it has to be drawing, is likely now that I think about it... here goes nothing." With that, the teen drew a single line down through the top of the seal, finishing it off.

The first one affected was Jirobu. He felt incredibly weak – then it spread to the others, though it couldn't quite reach Tayuya on the far side of the barrier. Kidomaru fell to one knee as his breath rushed out of him, while Ukon popped out of Sakon, revealing that it should be the Sound Five at the least.

Naruto immediately covered up the seal, wiping it away with the palm of his hand – and was rewarded by the fact that the barrier, which had fallen when three of its anchors lost their strength, did not return. He quickly pulled out his sword and plunged it into Jirobu's gut before the shinobi could recover from losing his strength, and ripped it out and twirled it around.

"NOW you're the Sound Four. And Roach-teme can't hide behind his barrier anymore." The surviving Otogakrue ninja could only stare in shock at this shinobi who had somehow robbed them of their power, then killed one of their own with ease. Naruto tapped the back of his sword – which was completely dull – with one finger and shook his head.

"I'm not a pacifist. I'm a ninja. The others should return any moment now. Let's get down to business shall we?"

_**Konoha Gate (Once more before the explosion)**_

Ronnel arrived at the gate, completely out of breath. What he was met by was exactly what he had feared. Standing on top of the gate, holding one of the two Eternal Chuunin by the neck, was a Jashinist. But it was worse than that. It was a Jashinist that he recognized. The man on top of the gate tossed the shinobi's body down to the ground within Konoha's confines, then lifted up the scythe he was carrying to point one blade at the dark haired shinobi. Ronnel could only stare, trembling, at the blades of that scythe.

"RONNY! It's been so long man, how are you? Still banging that Zen chick, fuck, what the fuck was that tart's name? No that's right, she's gone now, sorry man! Jeesh, how the fuck have you been deadhead? What, no greeting for your old pal and teammate?" Ronnel lifted his head to stare into the eyes of the man on the gate, and each word he spoke dripped with bloodlust and hatred.

"Hello brother."

_**Despicable Author Style: CLIFFHANGER no Jutsu!**_

_**AN: Jumping monkey dollars, this took entirely too long to get ready. I won't go into everything that kept me from posting it, but I am incredibly sorry. I'm also sorry if this isn't up to par with my normal work, I'm afraid I've gotten a bit rusty.**_

_**In better news, this marks my return to writing for this bad boy. I'll have the next chapters finished up shortly, so there won't be another months-long haitus between this cliffhanger and its resolution. Also, I know there wasn't a lot of Naruto or Ronnel in this chapter, eh, I'm sorry. But don't worry, each of the next chapters will focus more heavily on the actual plot characters instead of setting the stage. Don't hate me too much!**_


	34. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33 **

_**In the Invasion!**_

**Konoha City Gate:**

"Hello brother? EIGHT FUCKING YEARS! since this fucker last saw me, and all the shithead has to FUCKING say is a shitty 'hello brother'! How do you fucking like that cocksucking shit?!" Who the man on the gate was talking to was a mystery; yet the man bearing a three bladed scythe didn't seem in the least bit upset about the situation. Instead a manic grin stretched across as his face as he stared down at the lone Konoha shinobi who was there at the moment. "Now come on bro, surely you can do fucking better than that. You haven't asked how I fucking am, haven't answered any of my shitty little questions, nothing, fucking NOTHING! Come on, give an old sinner a bone here." This last made the knuckles on Ronnel's hand gripping his claymore turn stark white as the leather wrapping creaked under the sudden increase in pressure.

"What the hell are you doing here Hidan. You've never come after me before, you get off on taunting me with rumors of where you are." He slowly breathed out as he tried to contain his anger. As Hidan laughed again, Ronnel's hair began whipping around his body as he unconsciously channeled wind chakra in his fury.

"Aww, my shitstain big brother is starting to lose his temper! You never fucking could keep a lid on it, at least not for the last seven shitty years. As for what the FUCK I'm doing in such a FUCKING SHITTY TOWN;" Here the man paused to take a breath, the grin on his face widening evilly. "Seeing my dear older brother here is just a fucking unexpected bonus. Jashin-sama sent me here to retrieve his next Avatar." At this the red-hot rage in Ronnel's veins turned ice-cold. Between one moment and the next the longsword in Ronnel's hand launched itself through the air, the wind chakra enhancing the thrown sword to such speeds that the air was splitting around the blade with an eerie keen. Somehow though, the Jashinist simply sidestepped not only the actual blade but also the deadly envelope of wind chakra that had surrounded and enhanced it.

"You traitor. You turned your back on our village, on our _family_!" By now more Konoha forces were arriving, though one look at the situation had them staying back, though many were starting to wonder what exactly their village-mate was talking about. "We were the sworn keepers of that sealed tomb, the guardians put there to make sure that that monstrosity never rose to power again!" The rooftop around Ronnel's feet began cracking and caving inwards as chakra built into the Konoha Jounin's feet and legs. "Not only did you release that bastard and spread his teachings, now..." Both of his hands gripped the hilt of his claymore as he spoke.

"You want to give him an _Avatar?_" There was a concussive soundwave as Ronnel blasted away from the rooftop, hurtling towards his estranged brother. The Konoha shinobi brought his blade around in a massive arc, blue and green chakra swirling behind it in a trail as it swung through to cleave the Jashinist in twain.

The dark metal of Ronnel's claymore, coated in blue and green, clashed against the dark metal covered in rust-red chakra of Hidan's scythe. Up close, side by side, the similarity of their appearances was far more noticeable, though the Konoha-nin had a healthier hue to his face than the rogue Waterfall shinobi did. Hidan never lost the manic grin on his face as he threw his weight into his scythe and flung his brother away. The claymore-wielding shinobi slammed into the side of the building that he had jumped from, crashing straight through the outer wall into the room that was inside of it. The roof collapsed inwards, blocking Ronnel from sight.

"We were a family of idiots, sworn to a fool's errand! Jashin-sama showed me the errors of my ways, and has risen once more thanks to me! HIS ADVENT IS NIGH!" As he said this, the triumphant Hidan brought his scythe high into the air. The other Konoha-shinobi started rushing to attack him, dozens of kunai and shuriken streaking through the air accompanied by multiple fireblasts and shots of other elements, all racing to reach him before he completed whatever it was that he wanted to do. The man didn't even bother trying to dodge these attacks, simply letting his body take the damage in order to finish what he had started. "I wish I had time to destroy your cheap ass my dear fucking stupid brother, but Jashin-sama sent me here for for a holy endeavour and I cannot let you interfere with that. HAVE FUN TREE-BITCHES!" As Ronnel managed to unbury himself from the rubble, he was treated to the sight of his treacherous brother slamming his scythe into the grand gate of Konoha.

Cracks started appearing all over it, radiating outwards in a spiderweb from the impact point. Two Chuunin stabbed their katanas into Hidan, only to have the man laugh as he backhanded them away, leaving their blades embedded into his body. Ronnel was getting ready to jump back into the fray himself when the gate suddenly ceased to be in any tangible fashion. There was a shockwave of force and shrapnel as the gate blasted into the city, the fragments of wood and metal shredding one of the Chuunin that had been smacked by Hidan, flensing the flesh from his body. Smoke and dust clouded the sight of empty gateway, but not the sounds of footsteps that pounded through the gates. Otogakure shinobi started coming out of the dust, engaging the stunned and dazed Konoha forces. By the time the dust had settled enough for the top of the gate to be seen, there was no sign of Hidan anywhere. Ronnel started cursing vociferously at this turn of events, then came to arms against the Oto-forces that were attacking.

As he fought, one of his clones was dispersed, which made him freeze up. This created an opening for the Chuunin he was fighting, who tried to stab him through the gut with a sword that had a sickly sheen to it. The brown-haired Jounin backstepped and blocked with his claymore as he growled in anger. He swept his blade up and knocked the Oto-nin's sword away, and introduced him to raw elemental manipulation via a slug of wind that cut and knocked him away. Then instead of killing the shinobi, Ronnel jumped away while he was stunned, cursing more normally under his breath.

"Shit. Jashin's next Avatar is somewhere here. _That's _why all of these Jashinists actually flocked to Orochimaru's banner." But the Otonin that he had been fighting wasn't going to let him just leave. A whip made of flame lashed by Ronnel, scorching his right arm. Ronnel landed and spun around to look at the Otogakure Chuunin, who was grinning triumphantly.

"HA! I knew that Bingo Book entry on you was utter bullshit! You're just some pathetic wanna-be tree-hugger who bribed the Bookies into trumping you up so no one would attack you. And now _I'm_ going to be the one to -gack!" The man suddenly spasmed, biting off the end of his tongue as his body shook, then locked up so he couldn't move at all. He tried, the muscles straining, but whatever was holding had him tight. Then as he struggled helplessly, a tendril of shadow rose up from the ground and waved in front of his face, the tip tracing against his cheek. Ronnel let out a hollow laugh.

"I doubt even native Konohan ninja are pathetic. Thanks Nara-san." Said pineapple-haired man nodded once, then turned his focus to the trapped ninja. The tendril suddenly straightened up, then snapped down like a cracking whip. The force of the blow ripped entirely through the Otogakure ninja, bisecting him from head to crotch. After the man was dead, the tactical shinobi turned and with his team started trying to get people to fall into organization as the Konoha forces responded to the beginnings of the Invasion.

Ronnel sighed and rubbed his eyes tiredly. There was much to be done, and now the Invasion had begun so everything was coming to a head. He was preparing to jump into the fray when his head snapped around to look to the east.

"That's... That's not possible!" He crouched down and launched himself off in the direction he had been looking, so distracted that he didn't even bother retrieving his sword that had flown when he shot it at Hidan.

**Rooftops, Kage Battle**

Orochimaru was weaving back and forth, cursing his luck that the Raikage had joined with Konoha. And that his Edo Tensei had been completely shut down. And that the barrier that would prevent others from joining had failed. And... Orochimaru was cursing a lot of things at the moment, especially that stick of PAIN that his former sensei was wielding. If he had his Kusanagi he would at least be able to counter the henge'd Enma, but as it was...

The treacherous Sannin hissed in anger on the rooftop shingles that he had escaped to as yet another pillar of lightning had crashed down on where he had been standing moments before, obliterating another mud clone that he had replaced himself with.

"Damn this old fool! When Kabuto didn't return I should have changed the plans!" Orochimaru camouflaged himself to buy a few moments of reprieve. Fighting two Kages was not what he had planned on, and none of his secret support – _Send them all to Makai! These annoyances probably know of the Jashinists too! Feh, there isn't much that they can do against them._ He had disregarded the Bingo Book information that had just come out a month ago, and was ignoring the rumours he had already heard that there was someone who knew how to kill the followers of Jashin. Today was NOT the Snake Sannin's day. He needed a way to level the playing field here fast, something to – Orochimaru needed to dodge now.

A column of fire blazed from the spot where he had been standing, incinerating the tree branch that he had kawarimi'd with.

"_HOW DO YOU KEEP SEEING ME?_" He shouted as he unleashed a barrage of envenomed snake fangs from his sleeve at Sarutobi, who had landed just after the column of fire dissipated. The Monkey Summoner batted the weapons aside with Enma, and started when the staff let out a sharp cry of pain.

"Careful Saru! Those things have an acidic venom on them." The old man sighed and slammed Enma down.

"Anything to do with my former student is bad news. My apologies Enma-sama." While Enma was conversing with his partner, A was stalking towards Orochimaru, lightning dancing across his skin. The Sannin growled and summoned a snake formed of air. The jutsu ripped away the lightning shield, only for it to reform.

"Can I get a break from you two in any way?" Orochimaru screamed this in frustration as he dropped down off the roof. This should have bought him a few minutes of time – except that Jiraiya was standing where he landed, tapping one getaed foot with a smirk. The Snake frowned – only for a giant tongue to slam into him and send him crashing into a nearby wall. The oversized constrictor that shot out from the hole crashed into the toad, and both went down. Jiraiya watched the hole, only to see no sign of Orochimaru. He snarled in frustration.

"Sensei! He's gone down!" The Sannin turned and chased after the snake that had been summoned earlier, to see that the snake had shed it's skin and a thin figure was fleeing through the stands, the Sound Shinobi that were nearby acting with increased vigor. The figure slowed down when a Konoha shinobi got in the way, only for a large snake to launch from the its torso and engulf the hapless konoha shinobi. The man cursed and gave chase to his former teammate, with Sarutobi and A looking at each other.

"Shall we?"

"Let me old man. You need to oversee getting your home back in order, while I don't quite have the same restriction at the moment." With that, the Raikage became wreathed in living lightning and shot off after Orochimaru and Jiraiya, flitting across the rooftops so quickly that even Sarutobi had trouble keeping up with where he was. The older Kage nodded his head slightly then turned back to the arena, and leapt back into the fray that was within its confines.

**Stadium Rooftops:**

Tayuya was the first to recover from the shock of what Naruto had done. The redhaired girl ripped a flute from her pouch and started playing it, her eyes angrily locked onto Naruto's. The blonde backflipped out of the way, using his sword to springboard himself to one side as a ghastly figure – a man shaped creature over ten feet tall, with bandages wrapped around its eyes and one arm missing, its skin paler than a cloud – suddenly appeared and slammed a massive club down where he had been standing just moments before. The blonde-haired boy just landed and nodded, then sent a trio of shuriken hurtling at the only one of the Sound group that had escaped his Demonic Suppression Seal. Another monstrous entity – this one missing both of its arms, otherwise identical to the first – appeared between the two, and caught the weapons in its mouth before spitting them to the side.

Of course, Naruto then had to dodge a golden arrow that shot at him from the six armed boy, narrowing his eyes at the Otogakure shinobi. The boy had apparently spat that at him – which was kind of disturbing, but on par with many ninja techniques. He didn't know what that stuff was though, so he wasn't about to let it actually hit him. The bucket hat wearing ninja cracked his neck as he looked at the group of three – four – ninja facing him. Not good odds even if he could go all out.

"Naruto-sama. Which should I target?" Naruto blinked at Gaara who had suddenly appeared beside him, silently and completely without warning. He could see that the Sound ninja were just as surprised, since they weren't attacking just yet. The cerulean eyed boy looked at their opponents then grinned ferally and pointed at the brothers who cohabitated.

"Them. They're right up your ally to crush." The Sand Jinchuruuki nodded and turned to the boy, who shivered a bit at the almost insane gleam in his eyes. Then he remembered that according to the plan this boy had been Orochimaru's trump card for the invasion, and both he and his brother let out soft growls as they glared at the 'traitor' to their lord. The two-in-one tried to leap at the desert Jinchuruuki only to be slammed off the roof by a column of sand that shot from the gourd behind Gaara. Said red-haired boy stepped onto a platform of sand and floated after the Soud duo, letting his old face show once more as he bloodlust tinted his eyes.

"You just made a mistake boy. Sakon and Ukon are the weakest after Jirobu, and sending those two up against him alone and leaving the rest of us to fight you just sealed your doom." This came from the boy who had spat the wad of gold at him. After he finished speaking he shot another arrow – but before it had crossed even half of the space between them a blade of wind – moving so fast that the distortion could actually be seen – bisected it, then continued on towards Kidoumaru without any noticeable decrease in size or speed. The six-armed man rolled out of the way cursing under his breath as Temari landed next to Naruto.

"I'm not going to let you hurt him." The teen growled and was about to blast her with his unique jutsu when a blast of lightning lit the ground where he was standing. He threw himself to the side, staring at the other blonde-haired kunoichi who appeared near the cerulean eyes Jinchuruuki. Yugito cracked her neck and looked to Temari.

"Shall we?" Temari nodded – and watched as Naruto suddenly tackled Yugito to the ground, then hooked a foot behind her knee and pulled her down as well. A scythe- it could barely be called that since the blade was more akin to an oversized axe blade than a scythe blade – whistled through the air where their heads had been mere moments before. The crimson streaks in his eyes widened even further as he looked at the person who had just attacked them. A blue haired man shook his head as he looked between the group of people who was standing there.

"Che. You're perfect for my sacrifices. I'll get started on my hundred with you five." Tayuya and Kidoumaru looked affronted at this.

"Oi, cocksucker! You're on our side!" The red-haired girl spat this out, and the Oto shinobi both nearly facefaulted when the man shrugged.

"That means nothing to me. The only people worthy of my loyalty are those who follow Jashin-sama, most specifically my Master. Otherwise you're just bloodbag sacrifices." The man hoisted the scythe-axe onto his shoulder and looked at the group, a feral grin spreading across his face. "I'm going to enjoy this. Three blondes, a red-haired girl, and a six-armed kid? Your mutations make you perfect sacrifices to show that Jashin-sama is the only way to true perfection!"

"Temari-chan, Yugito, you two handle the Sound scum. I'll take on the Jashinist." The Jashin-worshipper scoffed at the bucket-hat teen's words, then frowned as he narrowed his eyes at Naruto. The boy began walking towards him, spinning the blade in his hand, so that the blunt edge was now facing backwards, towards the Konoha Jinchuruuki. Suddenly he shimmered, pushing chakra through his legs that sent him rocketing forward. The Jashinist managed to get his scythe in the way of the blade before it cut into him, forcing him backwards and skittering across the roof. Everyone else was silent as they stared at the sudden kenjutsu battle that broke out between the two shinobi, sword clashing against scythe over and over again, bright sparks erupting from where metal struck metal.

Naruto brought his sword around as he rolled backwards, then thrust it forward, once again using the technique that he had yet to reveal to anyone but its victims.

"Kiba no Bakafuuino!" A howling spear of wind erupted from the tip of his sword, and when the Apprentice brought his scythe haft into the way to block again, he was surprised to see that the attack carved through the toughened shaft. Just as the attack wore out, it hewed through the scythe staff, cutting off the last two feet of it, drastically shortening the Jashinist's staff. The man growled in frustration as he dropped the end of the shaft, then kicked it at Naruto. The boy hadn't been expecting that and was caught off-guard by the wood slamming into his stomach from the force of the psychopath's kick.

The grunt of pain that came from Naruto shook the two blonde girls out of their stupor. Both turned around to look at the Sound ninja, and dark looks crossed both girls' faces. Temari looked at Tayuya, then Kidoumaru, then to Yugito next to her.

"I'll get genjuts bitch, you handle spiderfreak?" The blonde Jinchuruuki female nodded once after studying the Otogakure ninja, who were looking affronted to be so callously dismissed. Neither was given any time to show that though, as Tayuya was forced to dodge as a near hurricane of wind blades tore across the roof towards her.

Yugito chose to go for Taijutsu against the eight-limbed boy. She filtered a trace of her Bijuu's chakra through her system – not enough to create a cloak, and barely enough to even be noticed by those close to her, but enough to give her additional speed. She managed to land a kick on the Oto-shinobi, though he did manage to get his lowermost set of arms across his stomach to absorb some of the impact. Even so he was forced backwards, to the edge of the rooftop. Then the girl kept up a furious pace of attacks, and he jumped backwards to get some distance.

**Konoha Rooftops: Gaara vs Sakon and Ukon**

The red-headed Jinchuruuki landed near the pile of sand from his initial attack that forced the cohabitating brothers from the higher rooftop, and raised and eyebrow. He brought a hand up to start lifting his sand back into his gourd, wondering absently what exactly the big threat of these people was if they couldn't even last through one attack. Abruptly he was glad of Shukaku's automatic guard being active, as the wall of sand that shot from what he was manipulating to block the flurry of fists that came at him from behind kept him from being pummeled.

He turned around slowly to see two arms fading back into one of Sakon's arms, with Ukon nowhere to be seen. The Jinchuruuki raised an eyebrow slowly at this.

"That's not bad you know. That shield is pretty fast. But I can be faster if I need to, and to get rid of you I believe I will. After all I can't let you interfere with Orochimaru-dono's plans to annihilate this village." As he said this, Sakon was trying to restart the Cursed Seal, once more trying to draw on the demonic power that Orochimaru had 'gifted' him with. For some reason Gaara merely folded his arms and watched as the seal on the other shinobi's neck flickered several times, before suddenly blooming.

"You're an idiot aren't you? You shouldn't have let me call my power. Now you stand no chance."

"Pathetic. Uncle says that this power isn't even a shadow of his. But I suppose you're stronger than the normal weak trash of your village." The sand around Gaara began whipping up into a miniature tornado of sand, creating a buzzing sound in the air. "So you'll have to do for being my kill." The sand suddenly shot forward in three spears, nearly spearing the other man. The intended victim managed to contort his body out of the way, an extra leg coming out of his waist to support him as he rolled his body between the attacks. When the spears switched to being whips that tried to crack into him, a full length arm sprouted from his left elbow, grabbing the ground and hurling the whole duo in one body out of the way of the attacks.

"Not bad scum, not bad at all! But Brother and I will still beat you and your 'uncle' whoever the fuck that is. We'll do this the quick way Brother!" With that, Sakon crouched down to the ground and burst forward in a blur of motion, chakra leaping about his body into the ground, occasionally sending up clouds of dust that further obscured his form.

Gaara had time to blink but once before this blur of motion slammed into him, a heavy hit slamming into him and sending him staggering backwards. He recovered to see Sakon standing back and smirking at him. He was even letting the Cursed Seal recede.

"So sure of your victory trash? You have hit me once. You shouldn't give up the minor claim to power that you have."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that. Does something... feel wrong yet?" The smirk on the Sound shinobi's face widened. Gaara's eyes narrowed, trying to figure out what made the other ninja so confident. Then he was forced to emit a grunt of surprise when a head sprouted from his shoulder, bearing an identical smirk to the one across from him.

"My brother and I are very, very close. Our bloodline lets us mingle our cells with other cell structures so we can attack, though the others of our clan were very narrow-minded, and only wanted us to meld with inanimate materials. But my brother and I wanted more than that, we knew we could go beyond that. And Orochimaru-dono let us. And now we can kill you just like this." And Ukon used his power to sprout a leg inside of Gaara.

**Konoha: Ronnel**

Ronnel was hurtling across the rooftops, towards where his Kage Bunshin had been before dispersing. The entire way he was shaking his head, muttering something under his breath. But before he could get where he was going, a snake shot from shadows near him and sent him hurtling to the ground. He managed to twist around and grab onto the thin snake and break its hold before it could hurt him, but he was too distracted before, and it showed. He cursed when a pale face appeared from behind where the snake had come from, yellow eyes glittering.

"Well hello again. I should be off, but I have time to disable you before you come into your own fully. After all those fools are chasing after a Tsuchi Bunshin right now. Kukuku." The Konoha-shinobi spat to the side as he stood up from the ground, glaring at the Snake Sannin. "And then I'll get my beloved Kusanagi back, and kill you with it." The man grinned and lunged at Ronnel, who dropped his shoulder out of the way of the attack, cursing his luck mentally as he threw everything he had into evading the treacherous Sannin's attacks. He was managing to keep ahead, but only barely – a fully capable Orochimaru was far more dangerous than the drained shinobi had been when they last met. He wasn't able to get in a counter-attack against the ridiculous pace of the Sannin's attack.

Then it happened. He stumbled, zigged when he should have zagged, and Orochimaru slammed five fingers into his chest, glowing faintly with chakra. Ronnel let out a choking cough as he was thrown into one of the nearby walls, crashing through it. The Sannin let a triumphant smirk cross his lips – which vanished when a bright sliver shot from the rubble, forcing him to dodge.

"NO! THE BLADE CANNOT HAVE LET SOME FOOL LIKE YOU USE IT!" Ronnel was coughing as he pushed some of the wall off of his torso and legs. He looked at the enraged Sannin with a confused look – which changed into a grin when he saw something. Orochimaru narrowed his eyes and began running through seals for a technique he knew would be able to finish off the foolish shinobi who had dared to take his blade and his apprentice – then froze and looked up as he heard someone clear their throat.

"Kabam." A brought down another bolt of lightning damn near on top of Orochimaru – damn near because the Sannin still managed to get out of the way at least partially, though he did receive a fair portion of the blast to his arm – the same arm that Ronnel had managed to partially disable the last time the two of them had encountered each other. Then he growled and sent a wide wind blast at the rooftop that the Raikage was standing on, shattering much of the roof – and he immediately ran up the rubble as it was falling to avoid a bout of fire from Jiraiya, who had homed in on the lightning. As he was running he let out a screech of frustration as he felt one of his calves separate as the Kusanagi under Ronnel's control extended once more, managing to catch his leg as he dodged the two S-rank shinobi.

Of course, at the top of the rubble pile, he found A waiting for him with lightning armor on and an attack waiting.

"Rariatto!" The Kumogakure Kage spun on one heel, whipping his arm through the vile Sannin's neck. The snake summoner's head popped off completely – only for its mouth to distend disturbingly as a figure started crawling out. This figure felt metal bite into his shoulder before Ronnel's chakra control fritzed out and the blade of the Kusanagi shrank back to normal. Because of this the Snake summoner was able to shed his old skin and pop out almost completely healed – he was still numb from the impact of the Lariat attack, and where the Kusanagi had cut into his leg was still damaged, probably due to the poisons that he had imbued the blade with, so numerous and potent that even he couldn't build a complete immunity to them. And of course the wound in his right shoulder from that last attack.

But none of that mattered to the demented Sannin. He was escaping, he finally escaped from those blasted S-ranks. He hadn't managed to kill that pesky A-ranker, but he had sealed him, and with things the way they were it was unlikely Jiraiya would even notice what he had done. Noticing that his teammate, and the Raikage, were chasing him again, he scowled before creating a pair of clones – going all the way into using Kage Bunshin this time instead of an elemental clone, despite the drain on his chakra that it took, because he needed to fool them and only having equivalent power in his clones would do so. The clones split off, appearing just behind Orochimaru one after another, close enough that they looked like after images, then shot indifferent directions. The original was looping back around the Hokage's tower while a clone kept running in the general direction that the Sannin had been fleeing in originally, while the second was sprinting off at a right angle from that path altogether.

This did not stop the two S-rank pursuers from giving ample chase. Each one created a Kage Bunshin and had it chase after one of the Orochimarus, A clone of A chased after the real Orochimaru, while the real Raikage and Jiraiya's clone chased after the Orochimaru that had fled to the right. The true Jiraiya was chasing after the clone of the other Sannin that had continued on straightish, but slowed when the man he was chasing ran straight into a wall and vanished into a cloud of smoke, then he began cursing his luck. The speeds they were moving at would keep anyone but Minato with his Hiraishin from being able to catch the Sannin before he escaped, so he would have to hope that A was pursuing the real Orochimaru.

Temporarily defeated for the moment, the Toad Sannin headed back to the downed Konoha nin. He found Ronnel laying on his back staring up at the clouds, apparently unable to move.

"What in the name of kami happened to you? If an S-rank could get the drop on you _that_ easily then there's no way you'd have survived hunting Jashinists." Ronnel's eyes rolled to look at the only loyal Sannin, then closed briefly.

"I saw a dead person walking." He tried to sit up and groaned in pain. "Dammit I think that fucker hit me with something. I shouldn't have run dry on chakra that quickly."

"Are you kidding? You've got clones all over the place. I'm surprised you managed to last this long, the only people I've see-" Jiraiya suddenly cut off, staring at Ronnel with understanding in his eyes. The sword wielder had managed to sit up finally, using the Kusanagi as an aid to that. He looked at the Sannin and shook his head wearily.

"No, I'm not a Jinchuruuki. It's something else." The Sannin closed his eyes in thought, not even bothering to open them when an Otogakure shinobi landed behind him.

"Hari Jizo." The man's long white hair suddenly sprouted down and wrapped around his body, shielding him just as the Otonin tried to axe-kick him. Of course, the spikes that formed from the Sannin's hair made him realize what a horrible, horrible idea that had been. "Wait. Your name. It isn't Ronnel." Said shinobi looked up at Jiraiya sharply. "Holy... does Sensei have any idea who he hired?"

"No. No one does. I took that name for a reason. It means nothing, has no ties to anything. Hidan uses it because he doesn't care what I call myself, he won't ever forget my real name. Now. Drop. It. And figure out what your bastard teammate did to me." Instead, the exhausted Ronnel found himself with a kunai against his throat, a geta pinning his hand with the Kusanagi down, and the eyes of the Toad Sage boring into his.

_Well fuck this could have gone better._

**Konoha Streets: Anko**

The loyal snake summoner had finally found her. This was the chick she had kept catching staring at Ronnel throughout the early exams, but who somehow managed to vanish whenever she tried to get a good look at the foreigner. What was stranger was that the girl seemed to be wincing, as if she was in pain – but she didn't have a mark on her.

"Oi, girlie. Why the hell have you been eying up my man all damn day?" Anko hissed this at the other purple-haired girl, her eyes narrow. The girl turned around and grinned, though it was tight.

"Because he was my man first. I finally managed to catch up to my Paladin, and I'm not going to let him get away again." Before Anko could ask her what the fuck she meant, they both were forced to jump to one side as a massive foot crashed down. They could both see Otogakure shinobi squashed against the bottom of the foot as it lifted up and walked on, though only the Konoha kunoichi knew that that was Chouza Akamichi, utilizing his clan's techniques. But when she looked back to the other girl, the purple-haired foreigner was gone again, and nothing she or her snakes tried could pick up a trace of her.

"What the hell was that?"

_**And cut! Cliffhangers left and right, though only the last one was intentional. The Ron one. Sorry about the delay on getting this up, and after this chapter I'll resume responding to reviews. Things got a bit too hectic for me to be able to keep up after the last chapter, but everyone, I did read them! Really!**_

_**GT Out**_


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